The Henley Passport Index is a good index, ranking the power of each passport in the world based on whether you need to go to the embassy for a visa before travel or not. I like it, but it has a few problems:
- We have seen a rise in corruption over the last 20 years with the imposition of eVisas across the free world between democracies. While these eVisas are relatively inexpensive and are usually granted quickly, they are not equivalent to showing up with your passport while not paying a tax. I take a very conservative approach to how I define a visa. Any document which requires you to pay a fee and register with the government before travel is a visa.
- It puts the freedom of movement as equivalent to needing an eVisa. This is ridiculous.
I treat any visa policy that requires pre-registration or paying any fee down as a visa, and any time you don’t need to pay a fee before entering a country down as visa-free. In my opinion this is better than the Henley passport index, but it is still not the same thing. It then makes it look like an American in Canada versus a Hungarian in Belgium have the same rights, but this is simply not true either. The European Union and Schengen Area include the right to work and live in other countries in the bloc without a visa, but Americans and Canadians have no such rights in the other country, so my first approach to a better passport index, while certainly better than Henley, still comes up short.
That’s where my dataset, which I use from https://visamap.io/, which is the best website I have found for visa policy and is fully open source, is very useful. It already codes these as distinctly different arrangements without stating that paying a fee for permission from a government to enter a country before you arrive and freedom of movement are equivalent, which is absurd.
While this might not be the best possible method, I took the scores for each passport in the index rated 0-15 and I simply summed them up. It is more robust than any other passport index out there today. Maybe the ratios are a bit off, but I think this gives a better result compared to existing indices.
The end result is very similar to if we rank countries with my conservative view of travel freedom. The correlations are very close.
va is voice and accountability from the World Governance Indicators. The rest is obvious.
But ultimately the change is not very significant in terms of impact. If we go with the Henley definition where everything short of an embassy visit is visa-free, if we consider any tax paid to enter a country is equivalent, or even if we calculate a score by summing up the visa ranking, the change in ranking over all passports in the world is fairly small.
The biggest change happens only at the top which pushes every European Union/European Economic Area country above the United States and Singapore. Singapore goes from having the strongest passport in the world to having the 32nd strongest passport in the world. Most other countries are fairly unchanged with only minor differences.
That being said, here is a table of this ranking where I sum every country in the world, combined with a conservative count of the countries where the passport holder needs a visa, along with a count with the more open Henley definition:
The lower the visa score, they more powerful the passport.
| Country | visa score | Visa free for passport | Visa free for passport 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | France | 1795.0 | 171.0 | 233.0 |
| 57 | Denmark | 1840.0 | 168.0 | 232.0 |
| 77 | Germany | 1841.0 | 170.0 | 233.0 |
| 101 | Italy | 1841.0 | 170.0 | 233.0 |
| 191 | Spain | 1843.0 | 169.0 | 233.0 |
| 119 | Luxembourg | 1845.0 | 169.0 | 233.0 |
| 143 | Netherlands | 1845.0 | 169.0 | 233.0 |
| 20 | Belgium | 1846.0 | 170.0 | 233.0 |
| 195 | Sweden | 1847.0 | 169.0 | 232.0 |
| 13 | Austria | 1849.0 | 167.0 | 233.0 |
| 72 | Finland | 1851.0 | 168.0 | 232.0 |
| 98 | Ireland | 1855.0 | 166.0 | 233.0 |
| 126 | Malta | 1855.0 | 169.0 | 231.0 |
| 163 | Portugal | 1856.0 | 168.0 | 232.0 |
| 196 | Switzerland | 1856.0 | 167.0 | 232.0 |
| 162 | Poland | 1859.0 | 166.0 | 232.0 |
| 80 | Greece | 1862.0 | 166.0 | 232.0 |
| 91 | Hungary | 1864.0 | 165.0 | 232.0 |
| 54 | Czechia | 1866.0 | 166.0 | 231.0 |
| 152 | Norway | 1866.0 | 166.0 | 230.0 |
| 118 | Lithuania | 1873.0 | 163.0 | 231.0 |
| 182 | Slovakia | 1876.0 | 163.0 | 231.0 |
| 67 | Estonia | 1880.0 | 163.0 | 230.0 |
| 183 | Slovenia | 1880.0 | 163.0 | 230.0 |
| 112 | Latvia | 1880.0 | 163.0 | 230.0 |
| 51 | Croatia | 1884.0 | 161.0 | 231.0 |
| 92 | Iceland | 1896.0 | 160.0 | 228.0 |
| 53 | Cyprus | 1910.0 | 166.0 | 225.0 |
| 117 | Liechtenstein | 1915.0 | 158.0 | 226.0 |
| 167 | Romania | 1922.0 | 162.0 | 225.0 |
| 35 | Bulgaria | 1924.0 | 161.0 | 225.0 |
| 181 | Singapore | 1954.0 | 179.0 | 230.0 |
| 221 | United States | 1986.0 | 165.0 | 227.0 |
| 218 | United Kingdom | 1989.0 | 166.0 | 230.0 |
| 103 | Japan | 1992.0 | 165.0 | 230.0 |
| 144 | New Zealand | 1996.0 | 164.0 | 231.0 |
| 12 | Australia | 2007.0 | 161.0 | 231.0 |
| 40 | Canada | 2008.0 | 166.0 | 228.0 |
| 188 | South Korea | 2011.0 | 163.0 | 225.0 |
| 123 | Malaysia | 2035.0 | 164.0 | 224.0 |
| 217 | United Arab Emirates | 2038.0 | 160.0 | 225.0 |
| 45 | Chile | 2045.0 | 154.0 | 222.0 |
| 133 | Monaco | 2050.0 | 152.0 | 225.0 |
| 9 | Argentina | 2073.0 | 153.0 | 218.0 |
| 31 | Brazil | 2074.0 | 154.0 | 217.0 |
| 90 | Hong Kong | 2091.0 | 161.0 | 214.0 |
| 5 | Andorra | 2100.0 | 144.0 | 221.0 |
| 175 | San Marino | 2108.0 | 146.0 | 220.0 |
| 100 | Israel | 2121.0 | 150.0 | 213.0 |
| 18 | Barbados | 2133.0 | 150.0 | 216.0 |
| 171 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2137.0 | 147.0 | 213.0 |
| 34 | Brunei | 2139.0 | 149.0 | 212.0 |
| 222 | Uruguay | 2161.0 | 143.0 | 209.0 |
| 173 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2164.0 | 145.0 | 209.0 |
| 130 | Mexico | 2170.0 | 146.0 | 211.0 |
| 202 | Teudat Maavar | 2179.0 | 148.0 | 205.0 |
| 15 | Bahamas | 2180.0 | 144.0 | 209.0 |
| 8 | Antigua and Barbuda | 2182.0 | 144.0 | 206.0 |
| 179 | Seychelles | 2196.0 | 148.0 | 205.0 |
| 172 | Saint Lucia | 2202.0 | 139.0 | 205.0 |
| 160 | Peru | 2205.0 | 133.0 | 207.0 |
| 208 | Trinidad and Tobago | 2208.0 | 143.0 | 206.0 |
| 23 | Bermuda | 2210.0 | 146.0 | 204.0 |
| 50 | Costa Rica | 2210.0 | 138.0 | 209.0 |
| 225 | Vatican City | 2220.0 | 138.0 | 206.0 |
| 159 | Paraguay | 2221.0 | 134.0 | 202.0 |
| 82 | Grenada | 2225.0 | 137.0 | 202.0 |
| 157 | Panama | 2233.0 | 137.0 | 206.0 |
| 212 | Turks And Caicos | 2237.0 | 142.0 | 201.0 |
| 42 | Cayman Islands | 2245.0 | 141.0 | 200.0 |
| 33 | British Virgin Islands | 2246.0 | 140.0 | 200.0 |
| 60 | Dominica | 2258.0 | 132.0 | 199.0 |
| 7 | Anguilla | 2260.0 | 139.0 | 199.0 |
| 129 | Mauritius | 2261.0 | 139.0 | 196.0 |
| 136 | Montserrat (UK) | 2264.0 | 139.0 | 198.0 |
| 170 | Saint Helena | 2270.0 | 139.0 | 197.0 |
| 47 | Colombia | 2271.0 | 127.0 | 200.0 |
| 199 | Taiwan | 2278.0 | 120.0 | 202.0 |
| 216 | Ukraine | 2284.0 | 127.0 | 200.0 |
| 120 | Macau | 2291.0 | 131.0 | 195.0 |
| 84 | Guatemala | 2295.0 | 124.0 | 202.0 |
| 32 | British National Overseas | 2310.0 | 133.0 | 192.0 |
| 178 | Serbia | 2316.0 | 125.0 | 195.0 |
| 64 | El Salvador | 2321.0 | 123.0 | 197.0 |
| 89 | Honduras | 2323.0 | 124.0 | 196.0 |
| 184 | Solomon Islands | 2325.0 | 127.0 | 193.0 |
| 145 | Nicaragua | 2354.0 | 119.0 | 193.0 |
| 127 | Marshall Islands | 2359.0 | 117.0 | 192.0 |
| 213 | Tuvalu | 2360.0 | 123.0 | 189.0 |
| 174 | Samoa | 2372.0 | 118.0 | 189.0 |
| 207 | Tonga | 2380.0 | 122.0 | 185.0 |
| 135 | Montenegro | 2388.0 | 114.0 | 190.0 |
| 29 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2394.0 | 113.0 | 188.0 |
| 149 | North Macedonia | 2396.0 | 113.0 | 189.0 |
| 107 | Kiribati | 2400.0 | 118.0 | 184.0 |
| 155 | Palau | 2404.0 | 109.0 | 188.0 |
| 131 | Micronesia | 2405.0 | 109.0 | 188.0 |
| 132 | Moldova | 2423.0 | 113.0 | 182.0 |
| 2 | Albania | 2425.0 | 110.0 | 184.0 |
| 226 | Venezuela | 2453.0 | 105.0 | 180.0 |
| 76 | Georgia | 2488.0 | 103.0 | 174.0 |
| 168 | Russia | 2525.0 | 100.0 | 164.0 |
| 205 | Timor-Leste | 2553.0 | 93.0 | 169.0 |
| 210 | Turkey | 2565.0 | 92.0 | 162.0 |
| 165 | Qatar | 2595.0 | 90.0 | 158.0 |
| 187 | South Africa | 2601.0 | 91.0 | 157.0 |
| 21 | Belize | 2626.0 | 92.0 | 154.0 |
| 62 | Ecuador | 2630.0 | 80.0 | 155.0 |
| 141 | Nauru | 2650.0 | 87.0 | 152.0 |
| 109 | Kuwait | 2655.0 | 78.0 | 152.0 |
| 27 | Bolivia | 2674.0 | 72.0 | 152.0 |
| 71 | Fiji | 2676.0 | 80.0 | 152.0 |
| 124 | Maldives | 2682.0 | 84.0 | 147.0 |
| 102 | Jamaica | 2698.0 | 80.0 | 147.0 |
| 176 | Saudi Arabia | 2699.0 | 74.0 | 147.0 |
| 224 | Vanuatu | 2717.0 | 77.0 | 145.0 |
| 87 | Guyana | 2718.0 | 77.0 | 144.0 |
| 16 | Bahrain | 2727.0 | 72.0 | 142.0 |
| 158 | Papua New Guinea | 2741.0 | 72.0 | 144.0 |
| 153 | Oman | 2751.0 | 67.0 | 141.0 |
| 30 | Botswana | 2753.0 | 78.0 | 135.0 |
| 46 | China | 2755.0 | 68.0 | 139.0 |
| 95 | Indonesia | 2756.0 | 72.0 | 140.0 |
| 203 | Thailand | 2769.0 | 64.0 | 141.0 |
| 194 | Suriname | 2769.0 | 66.0 | 142.0 |
| 19 | Belarus | 2786.0 | 65.0 | 136.0 |
| 140 | Namibia | 2790.0 | 73.0 | 134.0 |
| 105 | Kazakhstan | 2800.0 | 64.0 | 135.0 |
| 114 | Lesotho | 2809.0 | 70.0 | 130.0 |
| 137 | Morocco | 2816.0 | 61.0 | 135.0 |
| 134 | Mongolia | 2822.0 | 61.0 | 136.0 |
| 68 | Eswatini | 2827.0 | 67.0 | 129.0 |
| 61 | Dominican Republic | 2829.0 | 56.0 | 135.0 |
| 201 | Tanzania | 2831.0 | 70.0 | 126.0 |
| 106 | Kenya | 2842.0 | 65.0 | 127.0 |
| 122 | Malawi | 2844.0 | 66.0 | 126.0 |
| 10 | Armenia | 2850.0 | 58.0 | 130.0 |
| 209 | Tunisia | 2850.0 | 58.0 | 128.0 |
| 204 | The Gambia | 2852.0 | 68.0 | 124.0 |
| 230 | Zambia | 2856.0 | 64.0 | 125.0 |
| 41 | Cape Verde | 2858.0 | 62.0 | 127.0 |
| 78 | Ghana | 2860.0 | 65.0 | 125.0 |
| 108 | Kosovo | 2860.0 | 71.0 | 121.0 |
| 161 | Philippines | 2861.0 | 57.0 | 130.0 |
| 14 | Azerbaijan | 2862.0 | 56.0 | 127.0 |
| 94 | India | 2864.0 | 54.0 | 129.0 |
| 215 | Uganda | 2868.0 | 61.0 | 126.0 |
| 110 | Kyrgyzstan | 2873.0 | 52.0 | 129.0 |
| 22 | Benin | 2886.0 | 56.0 | 126.0 |
| 138 | Mozambique | 2892.0 | 56.0 | 125.0 |
| 223 | Uzbekistan | 2895.0 | 52.0 | 125.0 |
| 180 | Sierra Leone | 2898.0 | 63.0 | 118.0 |
| 169 | Rwanda | 2898.0 | 55.0 | 123.0 |
| 231 | Zimbabwe | 2902.0 | 60.0 | 119.0 |
| 52 | Cuba | 2903.0 | 51.0 | 124.0 |
| 206 | Togo | 2908.0 | 53.0 | 124.0 |
| 36 | Burkina Faso | 2908.0 | 55.0 | 123.0 |
| 121 | Madagascar | 2908.0 | 51.0 | 125.0 |
| 74 | Gabon | 2908.0 | 52.0 | 124.0 |
| 177 | Senegal | 2911.0 | 54.0 | 123.0 |
| 198 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 2912.0 | 50.0 | 122.0 |
| 85 | Guinea | 2917.0 | 51.0 | 122.0 |
| 200 | Tajikistan | 2920.0 | 47.0 | 123.0 |
| 55 | Côte d\’Ivoire | 2921.0 | 53.0 | 122.0 |
| 128 | Mauritania | 2925.0 | 52.0 | 120.0 |
| 146 | Niger | 2929.0 | 55.0 | 119.0 |
| 227 | Vietnam | 2933.0 | 46.0 | 122.0 |
| 104 | Jordan | 2934.0 | 46.0 | 121.0 |
| 3 | Algeria | 2935.0 | 46.0 | 122.0 |
| 65 | Equatorial Guinea | 2935.0 | 48.0 | 121.0 |
| 125 | Mali | 2935.0 | 55.0 | 117.0 |
| 24 | Bhutan | 2939.0 | 43.0 | 124.0 |
| 86 | Guinea-Bissau | 2943.0 | 51.0 | 118.0 |
| 38 | Cambodia | 2945.0 | 44.0 | 124.0 |
| 48 | Comoros | 2946.0 | 43.0 | 121.0 |
| 43 | Central African Republic | 2949.0 | 48.0 | 119.0 |
| 111 | Laos | 2954.0 | 44.0 | 121.0 |
| 63 | Egypt | 2954.0 | 44.0 | 118.0 |
| 44 | Chad | 2959.0 | 50.0 | 115.0 |
| 166 | Republic of the Congo | 2963.0 | 47.0 | 116.0 |
| 6 | Angola | 2964.0 | 45.0 | 118.0 |
| 115 | Liberia | 2965.0 | 50.0 | 115.0 |
| 88 | Haiti | 2977.0 | 39.0 | 118.0 |
| 59 | Djibouti | 2978.0 | 41.0 | 118.0 |
| 39 | Cameroon | 2978.0 | 45.0 | 116.0 |
| 211 | Turkmenistan | 2986.0 | 38.0 | 116.0 |
| 192 | Sri Lanka | 2988.0 | 45.0 | 113.0 |
| 37 | Burundi | 2991.0 | 42.0 | 115.0 |
| 69 | Ethiopia | 2994.0 | 38.0 | 117.0 |
| 139 | Myanmar | 3007.0 | 39.0 | 114.0 |
| 113 | Lebanon | 3009.0 | 41.0 | 111.0 |
| 147 | Nigeria | 3012.0 | 50.0 | 105.0 |
| 56 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3013.0 | 43.0 | 110.0 |
| 96 | Iran | 3017.0 | 38.0 | 110.0 |
| 66 | Eritrea | 3018.0 | 36.0 | 114.0 |
| 142 | Nepal | 3027.0 | 35.0 | 113.0 |
| 17 | Bangladesh | 3037.0 | 43.0 | 103.0 |
| 190 | South Sudan | 3037.0 | 41.0 | 106.0 |
| 193 | Sudan | 3045.0 | 36.0 | 107.0 |
| 148 | North Korea | 3053.0 | 33.0 | 107.0 |
| 116 | Libya | 3058.0 | 36.0 | 104.0 |
| 154 | Pakistan | 3081.0 | 35.0 | 101.0 |
| 185 | Somalia | 3085.0 | 33.0 | 100.0 |
| 97 | Iraq | 3092.0 | 34.0 | 99.0 |
| 229 | Yemen | 3101.0 | 31.0 | 99.0 |
| 156 | Palestine | 3118.0 | 30.0 | 95.0 |
| 1 | Afghanistan | 3132.0 | 29.0 | 95.0 |
| 197 | Syria | 3133.0 | 29.0 | 92.0 |
| 189 | South Ossetia | 3252.0 | 23.0 | 24.0 |
| 0 | Abkhazia | 3253.0 | 23.0 | 24.0 |
| 150 | Northern Cyprus | 3282.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 |
| 186 | Somaliland | 3283.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 |
We continue to find that the way to have a stronger passport is for your country be wealthy, democratic, and have low corruption.
Every country with good corruption and democratic scores with a GDP per capita can travel to over 100 countries without any form of visa. But of these three factors, GDP per capita is the least important. Reducing corruption and democracy are the not-so secret ingredients for making a passport strong, no matter how we measure passport strength.
