The Henley Passport Index, which ranks the 199 passports in the world based on how many places their holders can visit without a previous visa, has placed the Pakistani passport in fourth place for the fourth year in a row.
Pakistan’s travel expenditure (100th place, tied with Yemen) is only placed higher than that of Iraq (101), Syria (102) and Afghanistan (103) in the most recent report, which was released on Tuesday. This rating is consistent with the previous year’s.
There are 33 states where travelers with passports from Pakistan and Yemen can enter without a visa, 31 states where travelers from Iraq can enter, 28 states where travelers from Syria can enter, and only 26 states where travelers from Afghanistan can enter.
In the last six months, Afghanistan’s passport has lost access to yet another country, providing its people with visa-free entry to just 26 nations worldwide—the lowest score in the 19-year-old index’s history, according to a news release.
With its passport granting visa-free travel to 195 places, Singapore achieved a “new record score” and maintained its top spot.
Germany, Italy, Japan, France, and Spain shared the second position, each having 192 destinations accessible with a passport.
With access to 191 destinations, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden came in third.
With access to 190 states and Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland, the United Kingdom came in at number four, while the United States came in at number eight with access to 186 locations.
The United Arab Emirates’ debut into the top 10 was also noteworthy. Since the index’s launch in 2006, it has added a “impressive” 152 destinations to reach its current visa-free score of 185, and in the process, it has risen a “remarkable” 53 spots in the rankings, from 62nd to 9th place.
Henley & Partners CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen was described in the news release as stating that the Emirati government’s “deliberate and concerted efforts to position the UAE as a global hub for business, tourism, and investment” were the reason behind the UAE’s “meteoric ascent.”
A nation’s ability to enter the country without a visa and its level of economic growth are strongly correlated, according to our research. better visa-free scores are typically associated with better GDP per capita, larger levels of foreign direct investment, and stronger international trade links.
