“Overcoming” Singapore, Japan officially became the country with the most powerful passport in the world in 2018.
According to the results of the Henley Passport Index released on October 9, Japan is currently the country with the strongest passport on the planet. Thus, Japan officially surpassed Singapore to hold the top spot of 2018.
Specifically, after gaining visa-free access to Myanmar in September 2018, Japanese citizens can visit 190 countries around the world without a visa or can apply for a visa on arrival. Meanwhile, Singaporeans will be free to visit 189 countries and territories. With this advantage, the passport of the “lion island country” is in second place.
Japan officially became the owner of the strongest passport in the world in 2018.
Germany, which was ranked the highest at the beginning of 2018, has now dropped to third place with 188 destinations. This number is on par with South Korea and France. The two countries, South Korea and France, rose to the third position compared to the previous years when they were officially granted visa exemption rights in Uzbekistan and Myanmar.
Singapore passport dropped to 2nd place.
Specifically, on October 5, Uzbekistan exempted visas for French citizens, visa-free for Japanese and Singaporean citizens in early February this year. Meanwhile, Korean citizens do not need to apply for a visa when coming to Myanmar from October 1. Paraguay is visa-free with Singapore passports since 2017.
In fourth place are Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden and Spain.
The US and UK are exempt from visa or can do on-site in 186 places. Both are in 5th place along with Norway, Austria, the Netherlands and Portugal. It is known that the US and UK have not expanded the “zone of power” to their citizens since the beginning of this year, so it will take a long time for them to return to the position of “the most powerful passport in the world”. as of 2015.
Vietnam passport ranks 90th.
In contrast, Iraq and Afghanistan continue to hold the “bottom” position. Citizens in these two countries can only visit 30 points without a visa in advance. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked 21st in the world, up from 62nd place in 2006 and became the most powerful passport in the Middle East region.
Two of the major countries in the world, Russia and China, almost keep the same position. Russia fell from 46th to 47th. Meanwhile, China dropped two places to 71st. This is a 14-place increase compared to 2017.
Also according to the results from the Henley Passport Index, Vietnam is ranked 90th when citizens are exempted from visa or visa at 51 destinations.
The Henley Passport Index is compiled and ranked by the residency and citizenship consulting firm Henley & Partners. The ranking uses data provided by the international aviation agency IAIA, covering 199 passports and 227 destinations, updated in real time throughout the year as the new visa policy comes into effect.