Pakistani passport ranked fourth worst globally

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Global citizenship and residence advisory company Henley & Partners has ranked Pakistan as a nation with the fourth worst passport in the world. According to the report, Pakistanis had access to 35 countries with an on-arrival visa facility until January this year which has now come down to 33, The News International reported.

The nation of over 220 million stands at the 100th position among the 227 countries rated on the index, the results of which are estimated via the number of destinations that their residents can access without possessing a prior visa.

Earlier this year, Pakistan was ranked among the five worst passports, as per the London-based advisory firm Henly & Partners.

India ranks 80th on the list with 57 countries that give on-arrival visa facilities to Indians.

Meanwhile, Singapore leads the index as possessing the most-coveted passport in the world pushing Japan, leading the list for the last five years, to the third position shared with South Korea, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg and Sweden granting their citizens access to 189 destinations without a prior visa, The News International reported.

Singaporeans, on the other hand, can visit at least 193 destinations visa-free around the world out of the total 227.

While Asia has conventionally dominated the rankings in the index, Europe is making a comeback with Germany, Italy, and Spain rising to the second spot, offering visa-free access to 190 destinations.

The United States of America and the United Kingdom, which were once leading the index, are witnessing their rankings plummet. However, Britain has shown improvement, moving up to fourth place, while the US ranking has taken a dip to eighth with access to 183 visa-free destinations, The News International reported.

The Henley Passport Index, which ranks 199 passports based on International Air Transport Association (IATA) data, is regularly updated to reflect changes in visa policies. The average number of visa-free destinations, over the years, for travellers has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109.

Despite the case, there remains a significant gap in travel freedom between the top-ranked and bottom-ranked countries. Nationals of conflict-ridden countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria possess the least travel privileges, with access to just 27, 29, and 30 destinations, respectively, The News International reported.

“The general trend over the history of the 18-year-old ranking has been towards greater travel freedom, with the average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2023,” a statement by Henley & Partners read. (HT)