New Delhi: Passports are essential to travel, but did you know not all passports are of equal status? Well, different passports give you different access and different freedom to travel. Good thing then that there’s a handy ranking that tells you just how useful your passport is – the Henley Passport Index.

In the post COVID world, when there are enormous restrictions on travel within and outside the country, Japan tops the list of being the most powerful passport in the world for the year 2021. The report was published by the Henley Passport Index. Japan bagged the top spot as it offers visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 191 destinations around the world. Isn’t that phenomenal?

For the unversed, the Henley Passport Index periodically measures the world’s most travel-friendly passports.

Before we further talk about the countries with the strongest passport, let us first understand what determines a powerful passport.

  • What is a strong passport?

Passports are ranked based on their Mobility Score. The higher the Mobility Score, the better the Passport Power Rank. Countries are ranked by the number of passports they accept visa-free or with visa on arrival.

Check out the full list here.

The best passports to hold in 2021 are:

1. Japan (191 destinations)
2. Singapore (190)
3. South Korea, Germany (189)
4. Italy, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg (188)
5. Denmark, Austria (187)
6. Sweden, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland (186)
7. Switzerland, United States, United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand, Belgium (185)
8. Greece, Australia, Malta, Czech Republic (184)
9. Canada (183)
10. Hungary (182)

The worst passports to hold in 2021 are:

Several countries around the world have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to fewer than 40 countries. These include:

103. North Korea (39 destinations)
104. Libya, Nepal (38)
105. Palestinian Territory (37)

106. Somalia, Yemen (33)
107. Pakistan (32)
108. Syria (29)
109. Iraq (28)
110. Afghanistan (26)

After Japan, Singapore is in second place with a score of 190, which means Singapore citizens can travel to as many as 190 countries visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 190 destinations around the world. Meanwhile South Korea ties with Germany in third place with a score of 189.

As for the worst? Pakistan (rank 107) and Nepal (rank 104) continue to be in the ‘worst passports to hold’ category as reported by CNN with Pakistan having a visa-free score of 32 countries and Nepal having a score of 38 destinations. Meanwhile Afghanistan sits alone in 110th and last place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of just 26.

  • Where does India stand?

India ranks 85th in the most powerful passport report with a visa-free score of 58. It shares its place with Tajikistan. This means Indian citizens can travel to as many as 58 countries visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 58  destinations around the world.

Other Countries

Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Norway, New Zealand and Switzerland are tied at the seventh position with regard to the most powerful passports in the world with a visa-free score of 185. Australia stands at the 8th position with a visa score of 184 along with Greece, Czech Republic and Malta.