Passport is a friend of a person. Without it, you won’t get the help you need, you won’t receive and send the package, and you won’t do another thousand and one necessary things. And, of course, you cannot visit another country without a passport.
Residents of many countries of the world have “privileged” passports that allow them to visit more than a hundred states without a visa or in a simplified manner. And every year, a world passport rating (Henley Passport) is created, an index that gives an idea of the best and worst passports in the world. 2019 was no exception.
The annual list of the British consulting agency Henley & Partners evaluates passports depending on the number of countries to which its holders can obtain a visa-free or simplified entry.
Complete table of world passport rating 2019
A place | State passport | Number of available countries |
---|---|---|
1 | Japan | 190 |
2 | Singapore | 189 |
2 | South Korea | 189 |
3 | France | 188 |
3 | Germany | 188 |
4 | Denmark | 187 |
4 | Finland | 187 |
4 | Italy | 187 |
4 | Sweden | 187 |
5 | Luxembourg | 186 |
5 | Spain | 186 |
6 | Austria | 185 |
6 | Netherlands | 185 |
6 | Norway | 185 |
6 | Portugal | 185 |
6 | Switzerland | 185 |
6 | Great Britain | 185 |
6 | United States | 185 |
7 | Belgium | 184 |
7 | Canada | 184 |
7 | Greece | 184 |
7 | Ireland | 184 |
8 | Czech Republic | 183 |
9 | Malta | 182 |
10 | Australia | 181 |
10 | Iceland | 181 |
10 | new Zealand | 181 |
11 | Hungary | 180 |
11 | Latvia | 180 |
11 | Lithuania | 180 |
11 | Slovakia | 180 |
11 | Slovenia | 180 |
12 | Estonia | 179 |
12 | Malaysia | 179 |
13 | Liechtenstein | 178 |
14 | Chile | 175 |
15 | Monaco | 174 |
15 | Poland | 174 |
16 | Cyprus | 173 |
17 | Brazil | 171 |
18 | Argentina | 170 |
19 | Bulgaria | 169 |
19 | Hong Kong | 169 |
19 | Romania | 169 |
20 | Andorra | 168 |
20 | Croatia | 168 |
20 | San marino | 168 |
21 | Brunei | 165 |
22 | United Arab Emirates | 164 |
23 | Israel | 161 |
24 | Barbados | 159 |
25 | Mexico | 158 |
26 | Bahamas | 154 |
26 | Uruguay | 154 |
27 | Seychelles | 151 |
27 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 151 |
28 | Antigua and Barbuda | 150 |
29 | Costa Rica | 149 |
29 | Taiwan | 149 |
30 | Trinidad and Tobago | 148 |
30 | Vatican | 148 |
31 | Mauritius | 145 |
31 | Saint lucia | 145 |
32 | Macau | 144 |
32 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 144 |
33 | Grenada | 143 |
33 | Paraguay | 143 |
34 | Panama | 141 |
35 | Venezuela | 138 |
36 | Dominica | 137 |
36 | Salvador | 137 |
36 | Honduras | 137 |
37 | Guatemala | 136 |
38 | Peru | 134 |
39 | Solomon islands | 130 |
40 | Serbia | 129 |
40 | Vanuatu | 129 |
41 | Nicaragua | 128 |
41 | Samoa | 128 |
41 | Ukraine | 128 |
42 | Colombia | 127 |
42 | Tuvalu | 127 |
43 | Macedonia | 125 |
44 | Marshall Islands | 124 |
44 | Tonga | 124 |
45 | Kiribati | 123 |
45 | Montenegro | 123 |
46 | Moldova | 122 |
47 | Micronesia | 121 |
48 | Russian Federation | 119 |
49 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 118 |
49 | Islands of palau | 118 |
50 | Albania | 115 |
51 | Georgia | 114 |
52 | Turkey | 111 |
53 | Belize | 101 |
53 | South Africa | 101 |
54 | East Timor | 97 |
55 | Ecuador | 93 |
56 | Kuwait | 91 |
57 | Fiji | 89 |
58 | Guyana | 88 |
59 | Maldives | 86 |
59 | Nauru | 86 |
60 | Qatar | 85 |
61 | Jamaica | 83 |
61 | Papua New Guinea | 83 |
62 | Botswana | 82 |
63 | Bahrain | 81 |
64 | Suriname | 80 |
65 | Bolivia | 79 |
66 | Belarus | 77 |
67 | Kazakhstan | 76 |
67 | Oman | 76 |
68 | Namibia | 75 |
68 | Thailand | 75 |
69 | China | 74 |
69 | Lesotho | 74 |
70 | Saudi Arabia | 73 |
71 | Swaziland | 72 |
72 | Indonesia | 71 |
72 | Kenya | 71 |
72 | Malawi | 71 |
73 | Gambia | 68 |
73 | Tanzania | 68 |
73 | Zambia | 68 |
74 | Azerbaijan | 66 |
74 | Philippines | 66 |
74 | Tunisia | 66 |
75 | Cape Verde | 65 |
75 | Cuba | 65 |
75 | Dominican Republic | 65 |
76 | Kyrgyzstan | 64 |
76 | Uganda | 64 |
76 | Zimbabwe | 64 |
77 | Ghana | 63 |
78 | Sierra leone | 62 |
79 | Armenia | 61 |
79 | Benin | 61 |
79 | India | 61 |
79 | Mongolia | 61 |
79 | Morocco | 61 |
80 | Mauritania | 58 |
80 | Mozambique | 58 |
80 | Sao Tome and Principe | 58 |
80 | Tajikistan | 58 |
80 | Uzbekistan | 58 |
81 | Burkina Faso | 57 |
82 | Cote D'Ivoire | 56 |
82 | Guinea | 56 |
82 | Senegal | 56 |
83 | Butane | 55 |
83 | Gabon | 55 |
83 | Mali | 55 |
83 | Togo | 55 |
84 | Cambodia | 54 |
84 | Niger | 54 |
84 | Rwanda | 54 |
85 | Chad | 53 |
85 | Guinea Bissau | 53 |
85 | Madagascar | 53 |
85 | Turkmenistan | 53 |
86 | Comoros | 52 |
86 | Laos | 52 |
87 | Equatorial Guinea | 51 |
87 | Haiti | 51 |
87 | Vietnam | 51 |
88 | Algeria | 50 |
88 | Jordan | 50 |
89 | Angola | 49 |
89 | Central African Republic | 49 |
89 | Egypt | 49 |
90 | Cameroon | 48 |
90 | Myanmar | 48 |
91 | Republic of the Congo | 47 |
91 | Liberia | 47 |
91 | Nigeria | 47 |
92 | Burundi | 46 |
93 | Djibouti | 45 |
94 | Kosovo | 44 |
95 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 43 |
95 | Sri Lanka | 43 |
96 | Ethiopia | 42 |
96 | Iran | 42 |
96 | North Korea | 42 |
97 | Bangladesh | 41 |
97 | Lebanon | 41 |
97 | Libya | 41 |
97 | South Sudan | 41 |
98 | Nepal | 40 |
99 | Palestinian territory | 39 |
99 | Sudan | 39 |
100 | Eritrea | 38 |
101 | Yemen | 37 |
102 | Pakistan | 33 |
103 | Somalia | 32 |
103 | Syria | 32 |
104 | Afghanistan | 30 |
104 | Iraq | 30 |
Why is the passport index so important
The passport index is the most accurate means of measuring the accessibility of residents of different countries to other countries. It goes beyond simply ranking passports and provides a detailed picture of your freedom of movement, including the following information:
- which countries you can access with a certain type of visa;
- how the "weight" of your passport has changed over the past 14 years;
- by what parameters is your passport compared with other passports;
- why your passport has this or that access level;
- which additional passports can improve your mobility.
Henley Passport is the only passport rating based on information provided by the International Air Transport Association, supplemented by extensive internal research, supported by expert comments and updated regularly throughout the year, making it the most reliable and trustworthy index of its kind.
Countries with the best passports in the world
For the second time in a row, Japan ranks first as the country issuing the most powerful passport in the world.
- The Japanese have the most convenient travel passport in the world thanks to access to 190 countries.
- A South Korean passport raised its position from the October index to join Singapore in second place, offering access to 189 jurisdictions.
- Passports of France and Germany took third place, offering access to 188 countries of the world.
- European countries - Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Italy - “in tightness but not in insult” took fourth place. Passports of these countries allow visa-free access to 187 countries.
- With access to 186 countries, Luxembourg and Spain passports ranked fifth.
- European countries - Austria, Portugal, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland - also showed good results, sharing the sixth line of the Passport Index with the United Kingdom and the United States of America. At the same time, the United Kingdom dropped from 4th to 6th place, while the United States dropped from 5th to 6th place, giving visa-free or simplified visa access in 185 directions.
- Belgium, Canada, Ireland and Greece jointly rank 7th, giving their citizens access to 184 destinations around the world.
- The Czech Republic single-handedly ranks eighth in terms of a powerful passport index with access to 183 countries.
- Malta is firmly in ninth position, allowing visa-free access to 182 countries.
- Australia, Iceland and New Zealand share 10th position, providing visa-free travel to 181 countries.
The largest "climbers" in the report were China, Colombia, Tuvalu and the United Arab Emirates - all rose five positions compared to the previous year.
“The historical data from the Passport Index over the past 14 years show an overwhelming global trend towards visa openness,” said Christian H. Kelin, chairman of the Henley & Partners group, adding that despite rising isolationist sentiments in some parts of the world, most countries are committed to ideas cooperation and mutually beneficial agreements.
Countries with the worst passports in the world
Passports of the lowest tourist rank in Europe are issued to residents of Kosovo - 94th place in the list.
Residents of Iraq and Afghanistan have the least “powerful” passports, providing access without a visa or by a simplified scheme in only 30 countries. Syria, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen and Eritrea - some of the poorest countries in the world - complement the bottom of the list of best and worst passports in 2019.
Russia's place in the ranking of passports 2019
Our country ranked 48th at Henley Passport. Russians can visit 119 countries without a visa or in a simplified mode. Of course, this is significantly less than that of the leaders of the rating, but not so bad, given that 104 states were included in the list.
Commenting on the 2019 Henley Passport report, Froilan Malit, Gulf Worker, Migration and Population Markets program researcher and Center for International Education and Leadership Center, said: “In general, international migration not only helps stabilize economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region, but and allows many South and Southeast Asian labor supplying countries to maintain sustainable economic growth even during times of crisis. ”
Experts expect that neither the United States nor EU member states will be able to substantially revise their current visa policies, while countries in other parts of Europe, as well as in Asia and the Middle East, are likely to conclude new cancellation agreements. visas with diplomatic allies.