In a significant quarterly shift in the rankings of the world’s most influential passports, an extraordinary occurrence has taken place in 2024, as six countries find themselves tied at the top spot for possessing the most coveted travel documents. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain now share the pinnacle, granting their citizens unparalleled access to 194 destinations globally. This marks a historic high since the inception of the Henley Passport Index, a comprehensive ranking system maintained by the London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm, Henley & Partners, utilizing exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
While Japan and Singapore from Asia have consistently dominated the No.1 spot for the past five years, the current top five represents a remarkable ascent for European nations. Finland and Sweden, along with South Korea, hold the second position, offering easy entry to 193 destinations. Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands secure the third spot with access to 192 destinations.
Further down the rankings, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom jointly hold the fourth position, while Greece, Malta, and Switzerland collectively occupy the fifth spot. Australia and New Zealand have witnessed an improvement in their standings, now sharing the sixth position with Czechia and Poland. The United States and Canada are tied in seventh place, along with Hungary, boasting visa-free access to 188 destinations.
One notable climber in the rankings is the United Arab Emirates, which has surged to the 11th position over the past decade, adding an impressive 106 destinations to its visa-free score since 2014.
Christian H. Kaelin, the chair of Henley & Partners and the mind behind the passport index, highlighted the widening global mobility gap between countries at the top and bottom of the index. Over the past two decades, there has been a general trend toward increased travel freedom, with the average number of visa-free destinations nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024. However, the leading countries now enjoy the ability to travel to a staggering 166 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan, situated at the bottom of the ranking with access to just 28 countries without a visa. Syria, with 29 destinations, and Iraq and Pakistan, with 31 and 34 destinations respectively, rank among the lowest in the index.
Henley & Partners’ passport index is one among several tools created by financial firms to rank global passports based on the access they provide to their citizens. Arton Capital’s Passport Index, for instance, takes into consideration the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories, excluding territories annexed to other countries. Updated in real-time throughout the year, Arton Capital’s index designates the United Arab Emirates as the top-ranked passport, boasting a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 180.
The 2024 Global Passport Power Rank places the United Arab Emirates in the lead, followed by five European countries – Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Austria, and Switzerland secure the third position, while the UK and the US occupy the 5th and 6th places respectively.
Arton Capital’s assessment in 2023 highlighted the rise of regional power hubs like Hong Kong, Macao, and Monaco, but declared Albania as its “rising star.” The demand for Albania’s industrious citizens surged, prompting governments to facilitate easier living and working conditions for Albanians globally.
In summary, the 2024 passport rankings underscore the dynamic shifts in global mobility, with European nations joining the ranks of the most powerful passports, challenging the traditional dominance of Asian countries in this prestigious list. The ongoing evolution of passport rankings reflects the changing landscape of international travel and diplomatic relations.