India's rank on the Henley Passport Index improved by two places to 82, according to the recently released 2024 Henley Passport Index. Singapore displaced Japan to become the world's most powerful passport, while Pakistan remained the fourth-worst-ranked country for the fourth consecutive year.
About Henley Passport Index
- The Henley Passport Index is released by the United Kingdom-based Henley and Partners firm, which claims to be the world’s largest residence and citizenship advisory firm.
- Henley and Partners compile the Henley Passport Index using the data of the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
- A country is ranked based on the number of countries that permit visa-free travel to its citizens.
- A country’s citizens who can travel to most countries visa-free will be ranked at the top, and the citizens of a country who can visit visa-free to the fewest countries will be ranked at the bottom.
- The Index ranks 199 different passports (countries) and 227 travel destinations.
India Improves to 82nd Rank
- Last year, the Indian passport was ranked 84th in the world. This year, the Indian passport rank has improved by two places to 82nd.
- At present, an Indian passport holder can travel to 58 countries without the requirement of any visa.
- Singapore improved its rank to become the world’s most powerful passport. Singapore citizens can visit visa-free 195 of 227 travel destinations around the world.
- At the joint second place were France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain, each with visa-free access to 192 destinations.
Pakistan fourth-worst Passport in the World
- Pakistan's Passport has been ranked the fourth worst passport in the world for the fourth consecutive year. It is ranked 100th, and a Pakistani citizen can visit 33 countries visa-free.
- Afghanistan’s passport is ranked at the bottom, at 103, in the 2024 Henley Passport Index. An Afghan citizen can travel only to 26 countries visa-free. According to Henley, it is the lowest-ever visa-free destination for a country’s citizens in the 19 years of the publication of the Henley Passport Index.
- Above Afghanistan are Syria(102) and Iraq(101).
Top Ten Ranked Countries
Following is the list of the top ten ranked countries on the 2024 Henley Passport Index.
Rank
|
Country name
|
Visa-free travel to number of Countries
|
1
|
Singapore
|
195
|
2
|
Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain, France
|
192
|
3
|
South Korea, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
|
191
|
4
|
New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, United Kingdom
|
190
|
5
|
Australia, Portugal
|
189
|
6
|
Greece, Poland
|
188
|
7
|
Canada, Hungary, Malta, Czechia
|
187
|
8
|
United States of America
|
186
|
9
|
Estonia, Lithuania, UAE
|
185
|
10
|
Iceland, Slovenia, Latvia, Slovakia
|
184
|