Singapore has the second strongest passport of any country in the world, according to a recent survey. Asian countries top the list of the world’s strongest passports and two other nations from the region earned the dubious distinction of having the weakest passports as well.
According to the Henley Passport Index released by Henley and Partners' Global Mobility Report, Japan and Singapore have the strongest passports in the global ranking, giving visa-free access to 193 and 192 countries respectively.
On the other hand, the citizens of Afghanistan can access only 26 countries. And the holders of a Pakistani passport can visit only 32 countries without securing a visa in advance, according to the rankings released by the London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm.
India ranks 84th on the list, dropping two places from 2020. The Indian passport grants visa-free access to 58 countries.
Southeast Asian nation Myanmar, despite a military coup, has secured the 94th position with access to 47 destinations whereas India and Bangladesh stand at the 84th and 100th ranks, respectively.
China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) climb from the 90th position to 68th, and 65th position to 15th, respectively.
The index calculates the number of countries citizens can access without a visa. It also uses information from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It does not factor in any temporary pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Although the passport index doesn’t take into account the current travel restrictions owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the road to economic recovery and development is largely dependent on global mobility and the power of one’s passport plays a key role in this.
