The world's most powerful passport rankings remain largely unchanged to begin 2022, according to the latest Henley Passport Index from global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.
Based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the index doesn't consider temporary COVID-19 travel restrictions. Therefore, Japan and Singapore are tied for the most powerful document with visa-free access to 192 destinations around the world.
South Korea and Germany remain tied for second (190), followed by Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain (189). However, this year, France, Netherlands and Sweden have each risen one spot to join Austria and Denmark in fourth place (188). Elsewhere in Europe, Ireland and Portugal remain the fifth-most powerful travel documents, providing holders with visa-free access to as many as 187 countries without taking temporary restrictions into account.
The United States, which boasts the world's most powerful passport, according to the Global Passport Index, jumped up one spot in the Henley Passport Index for 2022, tying with Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom for the world's sixth-most powerful document this year (186). The top 10 is rounded out by Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece and Malta (185); Poland and Hungary (183); Lithuania and Slovakia (182) and Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia (181).
When it comes to the worst passports to hold, Afghanistan remains the least powerful worldwide with access to just 26 countries. Iraq (28), Syria (29), Pakistan (31) and Yemen (33) round out the bottom five.
In revealing 2022's rankings, Henley & Partners reiterated that it's now seeing the widest global mobility gap in the index's 16-year history, a disturbing trend spurred by the pandemic that's resulting in travelers from Europe, North America and richer Asian nations having far more travel freedom compared to the global south.
"Passports and visas are among the most important instruments impacting on social inequality worldwide as they determine opportunities for global mobility," Christian H. Kaelin, chair of Henley & Partners, said in a statement. "The borders within which we happen to be born, and the documents we are entitled to hold, are no less arbitrary than our skin color. Wealthier states need to encourage positive inward migration in an effort to help redistribute and rebalance human and material resources worldwide."
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