Strongest passport in the world
Last update: 7 January 2023
It’s a great year to have a Singaporean passport! Singaporean citizens currently have the most powerful document for international travel at their fingertips. The Singaporean passport is currently ranked 1st place according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. This indicates that holders of Singapore passport are able to travel to 194 visa-free countries throughout the world. This is the highest number of visa-free countries granted by any passport in 2023. Singaporean passport holders can travel to countries and regions like Brazil, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States with visa-free access, visa-on-arrival, or electronic travel authorization (eTA). It’s a veritable golden ticket for 2023!
Other powerful passports this year include South Korea, Japan, Finland, Germany, and Spain. Holders of the South Korean and Japanese passports have visa-free access to 193 countries, while the Finnish, German, and Spanish passports offer holders access to 191. Holders of all five of these passports can look forward to better mobility and access to international destinations than the vast majority of other countries in the world.
Strongest passports in the world
Here is the list of the strongest passports in the world:
1. Singapore (194 visa-free destinations)
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2. South Korea, Japan (193 visa-free destinations)
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3. Finland, Germany, Spain (191 visa-free destinations)
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4. Luxembourg, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Denmark (190 visa-free destinations)
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5. Austria, Portugal, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland (189 visa-free destinations)
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6. USA, Canada, Switzerland, Norway (188 visa-free destinations)
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7. Belgium, Greece (187 visa-free destinations)
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8. Poland, Malta (186 visa-free destinations)
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9. Australia, Slovakia (185 visa-free destinations)
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10. Hungary, Czech Republic (184 visa-free destinations)
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The Luxembourgish, French, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, and Danish passports all provide visa-free access to 190 countries, but with slight differences. For example, holders of the Dutch passport have access to 143 visa-free destinations, and 34 visa-on-arrival destinations, while those with the French passport can access more visa-free destinations (144), but fewer visa-on-arrival destinations (33). The overall ranking of these passports is the same within the context of the global ranking process.
How Are Passports Ranked?
So, how exactly does the ranking process work? Determining the top passports in the world largely depends on how easily holders can access various destinations. Each country has a visa policy for travelers coming from other countries. Some require extensive paperwork and documentation, while others open their doors to travelers from many destinations. Measuring the strength of a passport depends on how many countries a holder of that passport can access without obtaining a visa. This ranking is determined by the number of countries that are considered visa-free destinations. The strongest passports in the world have the most access to visa-free countries and therefore have the highest rankings.
The term visa-free access refers to those destinations a traveler can enter in one of three ways: visa-free (i.e., countries that allow the passport holder to enter without a visa, visa-on-arrival (i.e. countries that allow the passport holder to enter by obtaining a visa upon arriving in the country), and electronic travel authorization (eTA) (i.e. authorization acquired online before traveling).
The ranking of each passport around the world is the same as the sum of these three criteria. By adding up all the visa-free, visa-on-arrival, and eTA visa destinations, a rank is assigned to the passport that places it in relation to all other international passports. This ranking number is then used to create a comprehensive, ordered list of all passports from best to worst in terms of international accessibility. The top-ranked passport is the passport with access to the most visa-free countries. This year, Singapore takes the cake with the most powerful passport in 2023.
See the full list of global passport ranking for 2023.