NEW DELHI: Singapore has reclaimed the title of the world’s most powerful passport as owning a Singapore passport now gives one visa-free access to a record 195 global destinations. This puts the city state at the top on the Henley Passport Index.
According to the official data released from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain-dropped to joint-second spot.
Each of these passports give visa-free access to 192 destinations
The seven-nation cohort — Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden — with access to 191 destinations without a prior visa sit in third place on the ranking.
The Henley Passport Index puts India’s passport at the 82nd spot, allowing Indians visa-free entry to only 58 countries. India’s current rank ties it with nations like Senegal and Tajikistan.
Maldives is ranked 58th, with its citizens having visa-free access to 96 countries. China is ranked at 59th position, as the country grants visa-free access to 85 countries.
The US, on the other hand, continues its now decade-long slide down the index, dropping down to 8th spot, with access to just 186 destinations visa-free.
The UK and the US jointly held 1st place on the index 10 years ago in 2014. The UK now ranks fourth.
Afghanistan remains firmly entrenched as the world’s weakest passport, losing access to yet another destination over the past six months, leaving its citizens with access to only 26 countries visa-free — the lowest score ever recorded in history of the 19-year-old index.
The UAE makes it into the Top 10 for the first time, having added an impressive 152 destinations since the index’s inception in 2006 to achieve its current visa-free score of 185, and rising a remarkable 53 places in the ranking from 62nd to 9th position in the process.
The ranking, published by London-based immigration consultancy Henley & Partners, uses data from the International Air Transport Association to rank 199 passports’ access to 227 travel destinations.
Agencies

Agencies