Japan’s supremacy continues for the fifth consecutive year in the Henley Passport Index, a global ranking of 199 passports based on their strength, which is determined by the number of destinations it provides visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to. The more freedom a country’s passport entitles its citizens to global travel without necessitating a pre-arrival visa, the more powerful it is considered. With a score of 193, the Japanese passport secures its top spot in the list of the world’s most powerful passports for 2023.
It means that Japanese passport holders can visit 193 countries around the world without a prior visa. Singapore and South Korea shared the second position in the list of the world’s most powerful passports for 2023, falling behind Japan by a difference of just one point. Scoring 190 points, Germany and Spain bagged the third spot followed by Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg at fourth (189 points) and Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, and Sweden at fifth place (188 points). The United Kingdom and the United States made it to the top 10 world’s most powerful passports. As for India, the country settled for 85th rank in the 2023 Henley Passport Index, climbing up two positions from its 87th rank last year.
While the United States provides its passport holders visa-free travel or on-arrival visa eligibility to 186 destinations, Indian passport holders can only travel to 59 countries without a prior visa. Although India and the United States receive a significant number of travelers from respective countries every year, both countries require travelers to obtain a valid visa to be able to take US-India flights.
Henley Passport Index is based on the travel information collected from International Air Transport Association (IATA). A total of 227 destinations are taken into account to determine the world’s most powerful passports for 2023.
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