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New Delhi:
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain will start 2024 with the world’s most powerful passports, giving them visa-free entry to 194 destinations around the world, according to the latest Henley Passport Index. This ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
For the past five years, Japan and Singapore have consistently dominated the top spot. However, this quarter’s rankings show that European countries are moving up the ranks. Finland and Sweden are tied for second place with South Korea, offering visa-free access to 193 destinations. Austria, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands secure his third place, giving passport holders access to 192 destinations.
The Indian passport ranks 80th on the list, allowing its citizens to travel visa-free to 62 countries, including popular tourist destinations such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. India shares the current ranking with Uzbekistan, while neighboring Pakistan is placed 101st.
Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and creator of the Passport Index, highlighted the widening global mobility gap between countries. Despite the overall trend toward greater travel freedom over the past two decades, the gap between the top and bottom of the index has reached an all-time high.
“The average number of destinations that travelers can access without a visa has nearly doubled, from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024,” Kaelin said.
He said the top countries currently enjoy the privilege of visa-free travel to an astonishing 166 more destinations than Afghanistan, which is at the bottom of the list, with only 28 countries having visa-free access. He emphasized that there is. Syria ranks second lowest with visa-free access to only 29 destinations, followed by Iraq with 31 and Pakistan with 34.
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