Which country has essentially the most powerful passport on the earth in 2019?
According to Henley Passport Index 2019, Japan. The Japanese passport allows visa-free travel to 190 destinations, beating out Singapore and South Korea, which took second place, and France and Germany, which took third place.
Japan topped the index, which is updated quarterly, for the second yr in a row.
Japan maintains its top spot because the world’s most travel-friendly passport, because of the document being available in 190 countries.
The undeniable fact that all of the countries topping the list are Asian countries – together with other significant players from the region – shows that many Asian countries “maintain a high level of comfort with mutually useful labor migration” – Parag Khanna, founder and managing partner of the firm FutureMap in Singapore, Henley & Partners said.
Elsewhere within the region, China has jumped almost 20 places in only two years, from eighty fifth in 2017 to 69th this yr. European countries also performed well, with European Union member states (together with Norway and the US) ending behind the highest three countries, although the UK continues to fall within the rankings together with the US.
According to the corporate’s press release, in 2015 they each held their first joint positions. Henley & Partners Group CEO Christian Kalin, creator of the Passport Index, says the rating is a shiny spot in an increasingly isolationist world.
“The general spread of the open door policy has the potential to contribute billions to the global economy as well as create significant employment opportunities around the world,” he said. “The recent rise of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates in the rankings is another example of what happens when countries take a proactive approach to foreign affairs that brings significant benefits to their citizens, as well as the international community.”
The best passports value having originally of 2019 are:
1. Japan (190 countries)
2. Singapore, South Korea (189)
3. France, Germany (188)
4. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden (187)
5. Luxembourg, Spain (186)
6. Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Great Britain, United States (185)
7. Belgium, Canada, Greece, Ireland (184)
8. Czech Republic (183)
9. Malta (182)
10. Australia, Iceland, New Zealand (181)
104. Afghanistan, Iraq (30)
Here is the rating of Southeast Asian passports:
- Singapore (189) – No. 2 on the earth
- Malaysia (179) – #12
- Brunei (165) – No. 21
- East Timor (97) – No. 54
- Thailand (75) – #68
- Indonesia (71) – #72
- Philippines (66) – #74
- Cambodia (54) – #84
- Laos (52) – #86
- Vietnam (51) – #87
- Burma (48) – #90
Source: Henleyglobal.com | cnn.com | cnbc.com
