Well, it’s official, Singapore has overtaken Japan as the world’s most powerful passport.
This year’s most recent Henley Passport Index, a global ranking of countries' passports according to how many countries citizens can travel to, saw Japan dethroned as the number one passport.
Instead, the Singaporean passport is coming in hot, allowing citizens to visit 192 countries out of 227 visa-free.
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Germany, Italy and Spain all tied for second place with 190 global destinations without a passport.
And sadly for Japan, it received the bronze, along with South Korea, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, and Sweden, with 189 global destinations.
However, the UK has climbed the ladder, jumping to number four after consistently sliding down the ranking over the past few years.
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Joining the UK is also Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands, with citizens able to visit 188 countries.
Belgium, the Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland rolled in at fifth with 187 global destinations.
Meanwhile, Australia has reached number six, with visa-free access to 186 countries.
Excuse me, I'm just going to start planning my hot girl Europe summer in Lake Como **cue the orange umbrellas**.
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The world’s least powerful passports include Somalia and Yemen, which came in 99th place with only 35 countries, and Pakistan in 100th place with 33 global destinations.
Syria also came in 101st place (30 global destinations), Iraq in 102nd place and Afghanistan in 103rd place with 27 global destinations.
The index also noted that while the US can only access 184 destinations visa-free, it only allows 44 other nationalities to pass through its borders without a visa.
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Dr Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index said only eight countries worldwide have less visa-free access now than they did a decade ago.
“The UAE has added an impressive 107 destinations to its visa-free score since 2013, resulting in a massive leap of 44 places in the ranking over the past 10 years from 56th to 12th position. This is almost double the next biggest climber, Colombia, which has enjoyed a jump of 28 places in the ranking to sit in 37th spot,” he said in a statement.
However, some nations have improved their rankings tenfold.
“Ukraine and China are also among the top 10 countries with the most improved rankings over the past decade,” he added.
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“Far more than just a travel document that defines our freedom of movement, a strong passport also provides significant financial freedoms in terms of international investment and business opportunities.”
Topics: News, World News, Travel