Crossing borders is more or less easy depending on one's nationality.
To find out which passports allow you to travel the most freely (visa-free, with visa on arrival or with electronic visa), the citizenship consultancy firm Henley & Parners uses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) .
The Henley Passport Index does not take into account temporary traffic restrictions in place since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Japanese passport is at the top of the ranking.
They are joined this year on the first step of the podium by Singapore.
Nationals of these two countries can access 192 destinations without a visa.
The French passport, which goes from sixth to fifth place, opens the borders of 187 countries without a visa.
At the bottom of the ranking, we find Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nationals of these countries can travel to 29, 28 and 26 countries respectively without a visa.
A nuance, several States being on the same steps, the rank is not equivalent to a classic list (France ranked 5th is actually in 11th place).
Read alsoCovid-19: where is it possible to travel this fall?
Our map of Europe and major tourist destinations
Top 10 most powerful passports in the world in 2021, according to the Henley Passport Index
Rank |
Country |
Accessible destinations without a visa |
|---|---|---|
1. |
Japan, Singapore |
192 |
2. |
Germany, South Korea |
190 |
3. |
Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain |
189 |
4. |
Austria, Denmark |
188 |
5. |
France , Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden |
187 |
6. |
Belgium, New Zealand, Switzerland |
186 |
7. |
Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Norway, United Kingdom, United States |
185 |
8. |
Australia, Canada |
184 |
9. |
Hungary |
183 |
10. |
Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia |
182 |
Asia-Pacific countries maintain their lead gained in previous years.
In 2020, Singapore and South Korea were ahead of the United States, in 7th place.
“
In the 16-year history of the index, the top spots have traditionally been held by EU countries, the UK or the US.
The position of strength of the Asia-Pacific region will be maintained because it includes some of the first countries which are beginning to recover from the pandemic
”, underlined Henley & Partners.
* Originally published on January 10, 2021, this article has been updated.