The Henley Passport Index has just released the ranking of the world’s most powerful passports for 2023, and the rankings may come as a surprise: the UK and US are still in the top ten, but not in the top 5.
Japan ranked first with 193 visa-free destinations, followed by South Korea and Singapore in second and Germany and Spain in third.
This is the fifth year in a row that Japan has ranked number one. Brazil, which last year ranked 19th, is now ranked 20th, with visa-free access to 170 destinations.
See the best and worst passports for 2023:
THE BEST PASSPORTS IN THE WORLD
1. Japan (193 destinations)
2. Singapore, South Korea (192 destinations)
3. Germany, Spain (190 destinations)
4. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg (189 destinations)
5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden (188 destinations)
6. France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom (187 destinations)
7. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States, Czech Republic (186 destinations)
8. Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta (185 destinations)
9. Hungary, Poland (184 destinations)
10. Lithuania, Slovakia (183 destinations)
THE WORST PASSPORTS IN THE WORLD
102. North Korea (40 destinations)
103. Nepal, Palestinian territory (38 destinations)
104. Somalia (35 destinations)
105. Yemen (34 destinations)
106. Pakistan (32 destinations)
107. Syria (30 destinations)
108. Iraq (29 destinations)
109. Afghanistan (27 destinations)
The Henley Passport Index compares visa-free access for 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations from IATA, the International Air Transport Association. If no visa is required, the score is 1 for that passport (this includes countries where a visa can be obtained on arrival, etc) If a visa (or government e-visa) is required prior to departure, the score is 0.
With information from Forbes