According to the Henley Passport Index, the Australian passport has jumped one place and now occupies the eighth position in the list of most powerful passports in the world this year.
Japan remains at number one.
Highlights:
- The Australian passport has jumped one place and now occupies the eighth position in the list of most powerful passports in the world.
- Japan continues to reign as the most powerful.
- Japan aces the list with access to 191 countries followed closely by Singapore.
Henley & Partners, a global citizenship and residence advisory firm based in London, has released the ranking of the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
Japan aces the list with access to 191 countries followed closely by Singapore. Singaporean passport holders can travel to 190 countries without a prior visa.
Top passports of the world. Source: www.henleypassportindex.com
The Australian passport allows its holders to travel to 184 countries, and its eighth position is shared with the Czech Republic, Greece and Malta.
In 2020, Australia was ranked ninth with access to 183 countries.
The Indian passport has lost one place despite no change in its visa-free score. It shares the 85th position with Tajikistan, giving its holders visa-free access to 58 countries.
In 2020, the Indian passport held 84th rank in the list with Tajikistan and Mauritania.
Dr Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, says that the latest ranking provides an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary upheaval that characterised 2020.
Henley Passport Index 2021 Source: henleypassportindex
Listen to the story in Hindi:
LISTEN TO
Most powerful passports of 2021: Australia moves up while India slips
SBS Hindi
11/01/202102:11
“Just a year ago, all indications were that the rates of global mobility would continue to rise, that travel freedom would increase, and that holders of powerful passports would enjoy more access than ever before. The global lockdown negated these glowing projections, and as restrictions begin to lift, the results from the latest index are a reminder of what passport power really means in a world upended by the pandemic,” Dr Kaelin said in a statement.
According to the index, the top 10 passports are Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Austria.
