Singapore still holds world’s most powerful passport

Singapore easily took first place in the most recent rankings of the Henley Passport Index, offering its citizens the ability to enter 195 countries worldwide sans visa.

The Southeast Asian island nation stands alone in the top spot, while Japan, last year’s number one, shares second place with France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. All five nations in second place have passports that allow visa-free entry to their nationals in 192 countries.

This year’s Henley Top 10 only has three Asian nations in the ranking, with South Korea sharing third place with six European nations. Those from countries in third place are not too far behind with access to 191 destinations.

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On the other hand, Singapore stands in third place with regard to the Henley Passport Power rankings, with its Economic Mobility Score (EMS) standing at 92.39 percent.

Unlike the Passport Index, this chart shows the correlation between passport strength and a nation’s economic power, as rankings are computed based on the percentage of the global gross domestic product (GDP) each country’s citizens have access to.

Among Asian nations, only Brunei made it to the Henley Passport Power top ten, securing tenth place with an EMS of 87.82 percent whilst allowing visa-free travel to 166 destinations.

With regard to the top 20, Taiwan took 11th place with its EMS at 82.12 percent; South Korea in 12th with 80.71 percent; and Japan slid into 13th with 78.53 percent.

(Source: Henley & Partners)