Photo: Mike Chappazo/Shutterstock

Ranking the World's Most Powerful Passports

Travel
by Atlas & Boots Sep 7, 2015

Ten years ago, in my first job after graduation, I shared an office with a researcher called Munir who I nicknamed Dr2 because he not only had a PhD but was also qualified as a medical doctor. (I recognise it’s not the wittiest name in the world but it was the best I could do at the time.)

Munir loved learning British colloquialisms (“armchair critic”, “fairweather friend”), played loud Arabic music while he worked and held a Jordanian passport. One day, he came into work clearly frustrated and announced that he was giving up on travelling. Stationed in the UK for three years, he thought he would have a great opportunity to see Europe while he was here. Alas, his passport was so restrictive that securing visas became distinctly Sisyphean. He as a doctor (twice over) had fewer rights than I did as a new grad with relatively few skills just because our passports were different.

It was the first time I realised how lucky I was to have a British passport. I have been routinely reminded of this fact in the ensuing decade, most recently by Arton Capital, a financial firm that this year put together an index of the best passports to have. ‘Best’ is defined by the number of countries the passport holder can visit either without a visa or by obtaining one on arrival.

The full rankings are below.

Unsurprisingly, the UK is #1. With a strong global economy, a stable political environment and an enviable international reputation that somehow overcomes the questionable actions of our past, the British are able to swan into a whopping 147 countries out of 197 listed (75%). What is surprising is that the US is joint #1, also with access to 147 countries. With its more pugnacious attitude to international relations, particularly in the Bush era, it’s interesting that the US is still welcome with open arms across most of the world. The remaining top 10 — or top 29 if you don’t count joint positions — is predictably European (western, wealthy and stable) with the occasional inoffensive country further field (e.g. Canada, Singapore, Malaysia).

Perhaps the most interesting entries toward the top of the list are South Korea joint #2 with France allowing entry to 145 countries and Oman at joint #13 allowing entry to 134 countries. Clearly, both remain untarred by their troublesome neighbours. In comparison, North Korea at joint #73 allows easy entry to only 44 countries (101 fewer than it’s southern counterpart) and Yemen at joint #76 allows access to only 41 countries.

The worst passports at joint #80 with access to only 28 countries include the comparably unstable countries of South Sudan, Palestine and Myanmar. Also at the bottom spot is the seemingly paradise collection of Solomon Islands which has unfortunately been impacted by civil war, as well as the African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe which is small, poor and has a history of political instability.

The rankings*

Rank Country No. easily accessible countries
1 United Kingdom 147
1 United States of America 147
2 France 145
2 South Korea 145
2 Germany 145
3 Italy 144
3 Sweden 144
4 Denmark 143
4 Singapore 143
4 Finland 143
4 Japan 143
4 Luxembourg 143
4 Netherlands 143
5 Switzerland 142
6 Spain 141
6 Norway 141
6 Ireland 141
6 Belgium 141
6 Portugal 141
7 Canada 140
7 Greece 140
7 Austria 140
7 Malaysia 140
8 New Zealand 139
9 Czech Republic 138
9 Australia 138
9 Hungary 138
10 Poland 137
10 Slovakia 137
11 Malta 136
11 Cyprus 136
11 Hong Kong 136
12 Slovenia 135
12 Iceland 135
13 Estonia 134
13 Oman 134
13 Latvia 134
14 Lithuania 132
15 Liechtenstein 131
15 Bulgaria 131
16 Argentina 129
16 Israel 129
17 Brazil 128
17 Romania 128
17 Monaco 128
18 Brunei 125
19 Chile 124
19 Croatia 124
20 San Marino 123
21 Andorra 122
22 Mexico 119
22 Barbados 119
23 Bahamas 117
24 Seychelles 116
25 Vatican City 113
25 Antigua and Barbuda 113
25 Venezuela 113
25 Uruguay 113
26 Mauritius 111
27 Costa Rica 110
27 Panama 110
28 Taiwan 109
29 Turkey 108
29 St. Kitts and Nevis 108
30 Macao 106
31 Serbia 104
32 Paraguay 103
33 Macedonia 101
34 Honduras 100
35 Montenegro 98
35 Guatemala 98
35 Russian Federation 98
36 El Salvador 97
36 Moldova 97
37 Ukraine 96
38 Bosnia and Herzegovina 94
39 Nicaragua 93
40 Albania 91
41 South Africa 84
42 Guinea 81
43 Trinidad and Tobago 77
44 Belize 75
45 China 74
46 St. Lucia 73
47 Peru 72
47 United Arab Emirates 72
47 Dominica 72
48 Grenada 71
48 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 71
49 Sierra Leone 69
50 Cuba 68
50 Kenya 68
50 Jamaica 68
50 Tonga 68
50 Botswana 68
51 Tuvalu 67
52 Niger 66
52 Ghana 66
52 Belarus 66
52 Qatar 66
52 Gambia 66
53 Maldives 65
53 Samoa 65
53 Lesotho 65
53 Kazakhstan 65
54 Vanuatu 64
54 Kiribati 64
54 Ecuador 64
54 Guyana 64
54 Kuwait 64
55 Fiji 63
55 Thailand 63
56 Swaziland 62
56 Colombia 62
56 Nauru 62
57 Nigeria 61
57 Bahrain 61
57 Philippines 61
57 Saudi Arabia 61
57 Azerbaijan 61
57 Tunisia 61
57 Tanzania 61
57 Mali 61
57 Namibia 61
57 Zambia 61
58 Mongolia 60
58 Benin 60
58 Morocco 60
58 Malawi 60
59 India 59
59 Georgia 59
60 Suriname 57
60 Indonesia 57
60 Uganda 57
60 Papua New Guinea 57
60 Senegal 57
61 Bolivia 56
61 Cape Verde 56
62 Armenia 55
63 Kyrgyzstan 54
63 Marshall Islands 54
64 Tajikistan 53
64 Uzbekistan 53
64 Burkina Faso 53
64 Mauritania 53
64 Zimbabwe 53
64 Egypt 53
64 Congo 53
65 Mozambique 52
65 Liberia 52
66 Viet Nam 51
66 Algeria 51
66 Guinea-Bissau 51
66 Palau 51
67 Togo 50
67 Bangladesh 50
67 Micronesia 50
68 Dominican Republic 49
68 Jordan 49
68 Haiti 49
69 Cameroon 48
69 Syria 48
70 Libya 47
70 Iran 47
70 Turkmenistan 47
70 Sudan 47
70 Sri Lanka 47
71 Pakistan 46
72 Chad 45
73 Cambodia 44
73 Lebanon 44
73 North Korea 44
73 Gabon 44
74 Angola 43
74 Rwanda 43
75 Timor-Leste 42
75 Madagascar 42
76 Yemen 41
76 Kosovo 41
76 Congo (Dem. Rep.) 41
76 Central African Republic 41
77 Bhutan 40
77 Equatorial Guinea 40
77 Comoros 40
77 Burundi 40
78 Eritrea 39
78 Somalia 39
79 Iraq 38
79 Djibouti 38
79 Afghanistan 38
79 Nepal 38
79 Ethiopia 38
80 Solomon Islands 28
80 Myanmar [Burma] 28
80 South Sudan 28
80 Sao Tome and Principe 28
80 Palestinian Territories 28

*Rankings are from Arton Capital, a financial firm that enables individuals, families and companies to invest abroad.

This article originally appeared on Atlas & Boots — Travel with Abandon and is republished here with permission.

Discover Matador

Save Bookmark

We use cookies for analytics tracking and advertising from our partners.

For more information read our privacy policy.