Henley Passport Index

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The Henley Passport Index (HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom of holders of their ordinary – as opposed to diplomatic – passport holders.[1] It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index (HVRI)[2] and was modified and renamed in January 2018.[3][4] The site provides a ranking for 199 passports of the world according to the number of countries their holders can travel to visa-free. The number of countries that a specific passport can access becomes its visa-free 'score'. In collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and based on official data from their global database[5] Henley & Partners has analysed the visa regulations of the vast majority of the countries and territories in the world since 2006.[6]

2021 Henley Passport Index​[edit]

2021
rank[7]		 Passport issuing country Visa-free
destinations
1 Japan 193
2 Singapore 192
3 Germany 191
South Korea 191
5 Finland 190
Italy 190
Luxembourg 190
Spain 190
9 Austria 189
Denmark 189
11 France 188
Ireland 188
Netherlands 188
Portugal 188
Sweden 188
16 Belgium 187
New Zealand 187
Switzerland 187
United Kingdom 187
United States 187
21 Czech Republic 186
Greece 186
Malta 186
Norway 186
25 Australia 185
Canada 185
27 Hungary 184
28 Lithuania 183
Poland 183
Slovakia 183
31 Estonia 182
Iceland 182
Latvia 182
Slovenia 182
35 Liechtenstein 179
Malaysia 179
37 Cyprus 176
38 Monaco 175
United Arab Emirates 175
40 Bulgaria 174
Chile 174
Romania 174
43 Croatia 173
44 Hong Kong 171
45 Argentina 170
Brazil 170
47 Andorra 169
San Marino 169
49 Brunei 166
50 Barbados 161
51 Israel 159
Mexico 159
53 Saint Kitts and Nevis 157
54 Bahamas 155
55 Vatican City 154
56 Uruguay 154
57 Seychelles 152
58 Antigua and Barbuda 151
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 151
60 Costa Rica 150
Trinidad and Tobago 150
62 Mauritius 146
Saint Lucia 146
Taiwan 146
65 Macau 145
66 Grenada 144
67 Dominica 143
68 Panama 142
69 Paraguay 141
70 Ukraine 137
71 Serbia 136
72 Peru 135
Vanuatu 135
74 El Salvador 134
75 Guatemala 133
Honduras 133
77 Samoa 131
Solomon Islands 131
79 Colombia 130
Venezuela 130
81 Tonga 129
82 Nicaragua 127
Tuvalu 127
84 North Macedonia 126
85 Montenegro 124
86 Kiribati 123
Marshall Islands 123
88 Moldova 121
89 Palau 120
90 Russia 119
91 Micronesia 118
92 Bosnia and Herzegovina 117
93 Georgia 116
94 Albania 115
95 Turkey 111
96 South Africa 102
97 Belize 101
98 Qatar 97
99 Kuwait 96
100 East Timor 94
101 Ecuador 92
102 Nauru 89
103 Fiji 88
104 Guyana 87
Maldives 87
106 Botswana 86
107 Jamaica 85
108 Bahrain 83
109 Papua New Guinea 82
110 Oman 80
111 Bolivia 79
Saudi Arabia 79
Thailand 79
114 China 78
Namibia 78
Suriname 78
117 Belarus 77
Lesotho 77
119 Kazakhstan 75
120 Eswatini 74
121 Malawi 73
122 Indonesia 72
Kenya 72
Tanzania 72
125 Tunisia 71
Zambia 71
127 Dominican Republic 70
128 Azerbaijan 68
Gambia 68
130 Cape Verde 67
Uganda 67
132 Philippines 66
133 Zimbabwe 65
134 Armenia 64
Cuba 64
Ghana 64
Morocco 64
138 Kyrgyzstan 63
Mozambique 63
Sierra Leone 63
141 Benin 62
Mongolia 62
143 Rwanda 61
São Tomé and Príncipe 61
145 Mauritania 60
146 Burkina Faso 59
147 Gabon 58
India 58
Tajikistan 58
150 Ivory Coast 57
Uzbekistan 57
152 Equatorial Guinea 56
Madagascar 56
Senegal 56
155 Guinea 55
Togo 55
157 Cambodia 54
Chad 54
Comoros 54
Mali 54
Niger 54
Vietnam 54
163 Algeria 53
Bhutan 53
Central African Republic 53
Guinea-Bissau 53
Turkmenistan 53
168 Angola 51
Burundi 51
Egypt 51
Jordan 51
172 Cameroon 50
Laos 50
Liberia 50
175 Congo 49
Haiti 49
177 Djibouti 48
178 Myanmar 47
179 Nigeria 46
180 Ethiopia 45
181 South Sudan 44
182 DR Congo 43
Eritrea 43
184 Iran 42
Sri Lanka 42
186 Bangladesh 41
Lebanon 41
Sudan 41
189 Kosovo 40
Libya 40
191 North Korea 39
192 Nepal 38
193 Palestine 37
194 Somalia 34
195 Yemen 33
196 Pakistan 32
197 Syria 29
198 Iraq 28
199 Afghanistan 26

Definition of the Index​[edit]

The Henley Passport index (HPI) ranks passports according to how many destinations can be reached using a particular country's ordinary passport without requiring a visa ('visa-free'). All distinct destination countries and territories in the IATA database are considered. However, since not all territories issue passports, there are far fewer passports ranked than destinations against which queries are made.[8]

Methodology​[edit]

To determine the score for each country or territory,[9] its passport is checked against the IATA database in several steps:

1. Each of the 199 passports on the list, is checked against all 227 possible travel destinations for which travel restriction information exists in the IATA database. The score is updated throughout the year as conditions change.

2. Each query must satisfy certain conditions:

  • passport is issued in the country of nationality
  • passport holder is an adult citizen of the country which issued the passport and a lone traveller, not part of a tourist group
  • entry is sought for tourism or business
  • the stay is a minimum of three days

3. Further conditions include:

  • queries are made only for holders of normal passports rather than diplomatic, service, emergency, or temporary passports and other travel documents are disregarded
  • passport holders do not meet any complex requirements for entry (for example, possessing a government-issued letter, translations, or empty pages)
  • passport holders have all necessary vaccinations and certificates;
  • passport holders are arriving at and departing from the same airport
  • passport holders are seeking a short stay rather than a transit
  • the port of entry is a major city or capital, in cases where this is required
  • requirements by the destination country or territory regarding a particular length of validity of passports are disregarded
  • passport holders meet all basic requirements for entry (for example, holding a hotel reservation or having proof of sufficient funds or return tickets)
  • advance passenger information and advance approval to board are not considered to be a visa requirement or travel restriction, neither is the requirement to pay airport tax

It is assumed that the visa policies of Greenland and the Faroe Islands are identical to Denmark.

4. If no visa is required for passport holders from a particular country or territory to enter the destination, then that passport scores 1. [The passport also scores 1 if a visa on arrival, a visitor's permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) can be obtained because they do not require pre-departure government approval, perhaps because of specific visa-waiver programs in place.]

5. Where visas are needed, or where passport holders have to get government-approved electronic visas (e-Visas) before departure, a score of 0 is given. If passport holders must get government approval before leaving in order to obtain a visa on arrival, this also scores 0.

6. The score for each particular passport is then totalled by adding up its scores for all destinations.[10]

July 2021 results​[edit]

As of 2021, a Japanese passport offers its holders visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to a total of 193 countries, a Singapore passport offers its holders 192 countries, and South Korean passport and German passports each offer 191 visa-free or visa-on-arrival countries to their holders.[11] An Afghan passport has once again been labelled by the index as the least powerful passport in the world, with its nationals only able to visit 26 destinations visa-free.[12]

2006–2015​[edit]

European countries are notable for their stability over the past decade, and Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Sweden all remain in exactly the same position as 10 years before. The 'Top 10s' were almost identical, with 30 countries in 2015, compared to 26 a decade before. While Liechtenstein dropped, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Slovakia, and South Korea all made it into the top 10.

Taiwan, Albania, the United Arab Emirates, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia all moved up more than 20 places in the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index over the period, while the biggest drops were experienced by Guinea (−32), Liberia (−33), Sierra Leone (−35), and Bolivia (−37).

Older rankings​[edit]

In the table below, the "access" columns denote the number of visa-free destinations for holders of that passport. Unless indicated otherwise, the data in this table is taken from these[7][13] sources.

Country 2020
Rank 		2020
Access 		2019
Rank 		2010
Rank 		2006
Rank
Japan 1 191 1 6 3
Singapore 2 190 1 11 8
Germany 3 189 2 5 2
South Korea 3 189 2 13 11
Finland 4 188 2 4 1
Italy 4 188 3 5 3
Luxembourg 4 188 3 4 3
Spain 4 188 4 6 4
Austria 5 187 5 8 6
Denmark 5 187 3 2 1
France 6 186 4 5 3
Ireland 6 186 6 7 2
Netherlands 6 186 5 5 5
Portugal 6 186 5 8 7
Sweden 6 186 4 3 2
Belgium 7 185 6 6 4
Switzerland 7 185 6 10 4
Norway 7 185 6 7 4
United Kingdom 7 185 6 1 3
United States 7 185 6 7 1
Czech Republic 8 184 7 18 21
Greece 8 184 6 12 9
Malta 8 184 7 15 11
New Zealand 8 184 8 9 6
Australia 9 183 9 9 9
Canada 9 183 6 9 6
Hungary 10 182 10 18 19
Lithuania 11 181 9 19 24
Poland 11 181 13 16 16
Slovakia 11 181 9 17 22
Iceland 12 180 10 13 9
Latvia 12 180 10 20 26
Slovenia 12 180 10 17 17
Estonia 13 179 11 19 26
Liechtenstein 14 178 12 14 10
Malaysia 14 178 12 13 9
Monaco 15 175 14 21 15
Chile 16 174 13 27 14
Cyprus 16 174 14 18 12
Romania 17 172 16 22 34
Bulgaria 18 171 17 25 29
Argentina 19 170 17 26 19
Brazil 19 170 17 28 20
Croatia 19 170 18 35 28
Hong Kong 19 170 18 19 13
United Arab Emirates 19 170 15 65 62
San Marino 20 168 19 23 14
Andorra 21 167 20 27 20
Brunei 22 166 21 24 19
Barbados 23 161 22 29 35
Israel 24 160 22 25 18
Mexico 25 159 23 32 21
Saint Kitts and Nevis 26 156 24 31 40
Bahamas 27 155 24 30 35
Uruguay 28 153 25 34 20
Antigua and Barbuda 29 151 28 33 39
Seychelles 29 151 26 39 46
Costa Rica 30 150 27 37 23
Trinidad and Tobago 30 150 29 45 36
Vatican City 31 149 29 39
Mauritius 32 148 30 40 46
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 32 148 31 47 38
Saint Lucia 33 146 31 46 39
Taiwan 33 146 31 69 55
Macau 34 144 33 44 35
Grenada 35 143 32 49 41
Paraguay 36 142 32 39 30
Panama 37 141 34 41 30
Dominica 38 140 35 51 46
Peru 39 135 36 58 56
El Salvador 40 134 37 42 31
Honduras 40 134 37 42 32
Serbia 40 134 39 47 64
Guatemala 41 133 38 42 30
Samoa 42 131 39 53 49
Solomon Islands 42 131 40 52 44
Vanuatu 43 130 40 55 51
Nicaragua 44 129 41 43 33
Ukraine 44 129 43 65 64
Venezuela 44 129 38 36 25
Colombia 45 127 43 73 64
Tuvalu 45 127 42 54 48
Tonga 46 125 44 57 52
Montenegro 47 124 46 48
North Macedonia 47 124 45 46
Kiribati 48 122 46 56 49
Marshall Islands 48 122 46 66 61
Moldova 49 120 47 66
Palau 50 119 47 70
Micronesia 51 118 47 69
Russia 51 118 48 49 62
Bosnia and Herzegovina 52 117 49 74 71
Georgia 53 116 50 72 68
Albania 54 114 51 78 79
Turkey 55 111 52 46 46
Belize 56 101 54 50 42
South Africa 56 101 53 47 37
Kuwait 57 95 56 58 58
Qatar 57 95 57 63 60
East Timor 57 95 55 85
Ecuador 58 91 58 64 56
Nauru 59 89 60 56 54
Fiji 60 88 59 57 51
Guyana 60 88 60 57 45
Jamaica 61 86 61 56 45
Botswana 62 85 62 60 50
Maldives 62 85 61 56 52
Papua New Guinea 63 84 62 59 56
Bahrain 64 82 63 62 59
Oman 65 79 64 68 61
Bolivia 66 78 65 67 29
Suriname 66 78 65 66 57
Thailand 66 78 66 69 67
Namibia 67 77 67 62 56
Saudi Arabia 67 77 69 71 65
Kazakhstan 68 76 68 73 68
Belarus 69 75 67 72 64
Lesotho 69 75 69 64 47
China 70 74 72 88 78
Eswatini 70 74 70 65 52
Malawi 71 73 71 64 50
Kenya 72 72 72 64 52
Indonesia 73 71 73 84 67
Tanzania 73 71 75 68 56
Zambia 73 71 73 65 53
Tunisia 74 69 75 67 59
Gambia 75 68 74 61 45
Azerbaijan 76 67 76 76 68
Philippines 76 67 77 73 63
Uganda 76 67 76 70 58
Cape Verde 77 66 76 73
Dominican Republic 78 65 78 77 71
Ghana 78 65 77 67 53
Zimbabwe 78 65 78 70 56
Cuba 79 64 77 78 69
Morocco 79 64 80 76 66
Armenia 80 63 81 76 69
Kyrgyzstan 80 63 80 74 68
Sierra Leone 80 63 79 64 51
Benin 81 62 80 73 61
Mozambique 81 62 81 82 74
Mongolia 81 62 80 82 72
São Tomé and Príncipe 82 61 81 83 74
Rwanda 83 60 84 87 73
Burkina Faso 84 59 83 76 62
Mauritania 84 59 83 40 58
India 85 58 82 77 71
Tajikistan 85 58 84 77 69
Gabon 86 57 85 85 72
Ivory Coast 86 57 84 72
Uzbekistan 86 57 85 80 72
Senegal 87 56 86 76 60
Equatorial Guinea 88 55 89 89 76
Guinea 88 55 85 75 60
Madagascar 88 55 87 83 71
Togo 88 55 86 76 62
Cambodia 89 54 88 87 79
Mali 89 54 87 75 59
Niger 89 54 87 76 60
Vietnam 89 54 90 84 78
Bhutan 90 53 89 83 77
Chad 90 53 88 82
Comoros 90 53 88 89
Guinea-Bissau 90 53 87 79 63
Turkmenistan 90 53 90 86 77
Central African Republic 91 52 90 81 68
Algeria 92 51 91 79 73
Jordan 92 51 92 97 75
Angola 93 50 92 92 77
Burundi 93 50 93 89 78
Egypt 93 50 92 84
Laos 93 50 92 85 76
Cameroon 94 49 92 85 70
Haiti 94 49 92 85 74
Liberia 94 49 93 82 65
Congo 95 48 94 85 69
Djibouti 96 47 95 91 77
Myanmar 96 47 95 92 81
Nigeria 97 46 95 76 62
Ethiopia 98 44 97 92 78
South Sudan 99 43 97
DR Congo 100 42 97 90
Eritrea 100 42 99 93 76
Sri Lanka 100 42 96 84 74
Bangladesh 101 41 99 85 68
Iran 101 41 99 92 82
Kosovo 102 40 98 89
Lebanon 102 40 100 94 79
Sudan 102 40 102 96 79
North Korea 103 39 100 90 78
Libya 104 38 100 87 77
Nepal 104 38 101 88 76
Palestine 104 38 102 97
Somalia 105 33 104 95 81
Yemen 105 33 103 88 78
Pakistan 106 32 104 90 79
Syria 107 29 105 87 80
Iraq 108 28 106 97 81
Afghanistan 109 26 107 98 83

See also​[edit]

References​[edit]

  1. ^ Smith, Oliver (29 February 2016). "The world's most powerful passports". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Visa Restriction Index 2006 to 2016 2018". visaindex.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. ^ Andrejevic, Mark and Volcic, Zala (2016). Commercial Nationalism: Selling the Nation and Nationalizing the Sell. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. ISBN 9781137500984
  4. ^ "Rights of Passage — Henley Passport Index 2018". Henley & Partners Passport Index. Henley & Partners Holdings Ltd. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018. ...what are the political factors governing the strength of your passport? Perhaps more importantly, if your passport is not serving you, what can you do to enhance it? The 2018 Henley Passport Index was designed with these questions in mind. Launched 9 January, and replacing the Henley Visa Restrictions Index, the Henley Passport Index provides a ranking
  5. ^ Abrahamian, Atossa Araxia (2015). The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen, pp. 70–93. Colombia Global Reports, New York. ISBN 9780990976363
  6. ^ "The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index 2016" (PDF). henleyglobal.com. Henley & Partners. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Henley Passport Index". Henley Passport Index. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  8. ^ Kalin, Christian H. Global Residence and Citizenship Handbook (5 ed.). Ideos Publications. pp. 147–148. ISBN 978-3-9524052-7-7.
  9. ^ Kalin, Christian H. Global Residence and Citizenship Handbook (5 ed.). Ideos Publications. pp. 148–149. ISBN 978-3-9524052-7-7.
  10. ^ "Henley Passport Index 2006 to 2018". Henley & Partners Passport Index. Henley & Partners Holdings Ltd. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018. The index and its contents are based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and supplemented, enhanced, and updated using extensive in-house research and open-source online data. The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations. Updated in real-time throughout the year, as and when visa-policy changes come into effect...On a fixed date each year, Henley & Partners receives exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA), which forms the basis of the Henley Passport Index. In order to maintain the accuracy of the data provided by IATA in the face of constant updates to visa policy, and in order to create detailed visa lists for all 199 passports in our database, the Henley & Partners research team uses publicly available and reliable online sources to cross-check each passport against all 227 possible travel destinations. This research process is ongoing throughout the year. It is coupled with a rigorous monitoring system to pick up relevant visa-policy shifts.
  11. ^ "Henley Index: Japan tops 2020 list of world's most powerful passports". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  12. ^ Madden, Duncan (10 January 2020). "The Most Powerful Passports In The World In 2020". www.forbes.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Henley Passport Global Ranking". Henley Passport Index. Retrieved 2 December 2020.

External links​[edit]