The most powerful passports in the world for 2022

The most and least powerful passports in Latin America 1:06

(CNN) --

A trio of Asian passports offer their holders more freedom to travel around the world than those from any other country, according to a new quarterly report released by London-based global citizenship and residency advisory firm Henley & Partners.

Japan now surpasses Singapore and South Korea in offering its citizens visa-free or visa-on-entry access to a record number of 193 destinations worldwide, compared to 192 for the other two leaders.

However, Asia's more cautious response to Covid-19 means its citizens are less likely to make use of that travel freedom than those in Europe or the Americas.

According to the latest statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), international passenger demand for air travel in the Asia-Pacific region remains less than one-fifth of pre-IATA levels. covid-19 pandemic.

By comparison, according to the Henley Passport Index report, the European and North American markets have regained around 60% of their previous levels of travel mobility.

• The most powerful passports in Latin America in 2022

Europe dominates in the passport ranking

Further down the top 10, the ranking remains largely unchanged in the second half of 2022.

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Germany and Spain are tied with 190 destinations, followed by Finland, Italy and Luxembourg with 189. Next, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden are tied for fifth place, while France, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom are sixth. place.

New Zealand and the United States appear in seventh place along with Belgium, Norway and Switzerland.

Afghan citizens again occupy the last place in the index, and can only access 27 countries without the need for a prior visa.

However, as travel restrictions are eased, there are hopeful signs that lower-ranked passports are beginning to regain weight.

Indian passport holders now have similar travel freedom as they enjoyed before the pandemic, according to the report, with unrestricted access to 57 destinations worldwide (up from just 23 destinations in 2020).

Due to the invasion of Ukraine, Russian passport holders are more isolated from the rest of the world than ever.

The index does not take into account temporary restrictions or airspace closures, so although the Russian passport currently ranks 50th in the index, with a score of 119 visa-free or visa-on-arrival, the reality is that Russian citizens are banned from many of those destinations.

The best passports to have in July 2022 are:

The worst passports to have

Various countries around the world have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to fewer than 40 countries.

These include:

105. North Korea (40 destinations)

106. Nepal and Palestinian territories (38)

107. Somalia (35)

108. Yemen (34)

109. Pakistan (31)

110. Syria (30)

111. Iraq (29)

112. Afghanistan (27)

Other indices

The Henley & Partner list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports based on the access they provide to their citizens.

The Henley Passport Index ranks 199 passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access visa-free.

It is updated in real time throughout the year, as changes in visa policy come into effect.

The Arton Capital Passport Index takes into account the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories: Republic of China Taiwan, Macau (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican.

Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.

Its 2022 index has the United Arab Emirates in first place, with a score of 160 visa-free/visa-on-arrival.

These passports do not need a visa in almost 200 countries 0:57

Article updated on July 19

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