2023 is a year for countries around the world to resume customs clearance since the new crown epidemic, the recovery of the tourism and aviation industry is imminent, Henley & Partners released the world's strongest passport ranking in the first quarter of 2023 Henley Passport Index as the scoring criterion, Japan has won the fifth consecutive year, can visit an incredible 193 destinations, can be called the world's "passport king"; South Korea and Singapore tied for second place, with 192 visa-free/visa-on-arrival destinations.
The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which ranks all 199 passports worldwide based on the number of passport holders can enter their destinations without prior visa.
Germany and Spain are tied for 3rd place for visa-free access to 190 destinations worldwide. The UK and the US are in sixth and seventh place with 187 and 186 points, respectively, and are less likely to regain the top spot they have held together for nearly a decade.
Hong Kong ranked 19th with 171 visa-free locations, similar to last year, but seven points behind the United Arab Emirates, which has been climbing the rankings in recent years, and even worse than Malaysia, which is 14th with 179 visa-free locations.
Macao is tied for 36th place with Panama and Ukraine, and can enter 144 countries or regions without visas; China, which is in the same position as Bolivia, is 66th and can only enter 80 countries without a visa. From this point of view, the passport power of Macau and China is even worse than that of Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), because Taiwan and Dominica can travel visa-free to 145 destinations, ranking 35th in the world.
Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the index at 109th with a score of just 27, 166 visa-free destinations less than the "strongest" Japanese passport, and the world's "weakest" passport, the largest gap in global mobility in the index's 18-year history.
Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners, said the firm's latest research on the link between visa-free travel and global economic access reveals the financial implications of passport strength. A better measure of the economic mobility and financial opportunities offered by their passports for global citizens is to look at the percentage of global GDP they receive visa-free.
The more regions where passports are visa-free, the greater the economic and financial freedom
According to a new study by Henley & Partners, only 6% of the world's passports give their holders visa-free access to more than 70% of the world's economy. Of the world's 227 destinations, only 17% of countries or regions allow their passport holders visa-free access to four or more of them.
Japanese passports provide visa-free access to 85% of the world's countries or regions, which together account for 98% of the global economy, while Japan's own GDP contribution is about 5%. In contrast, Nigerian passports, which rank 97th in the world on a lower index, provide visa-free entry to 46 destinations representing 20% of the world, or only 1.5% of global GDP. The lowest-ranked Afghan passport provides only 12% of the world's visa-free entry and less than 1% of global economic output.
Areef Suleman, director of economic research and statistics at the Islamic Development Bank's Research Institute, said cross-border visa-free access to a more stable economy helps investors mitigate risks in specific countries or jurisdictions. Overall, better access to world economic output is advantageous, as it expands the basket of products available to anyone. While this can also be achieved through international trade, there will be more options for physical access, which can be extended to the use of non-exportable services, such as better education and healthcare.
"Economic powerhouse" passports are not necessarily welcome everywhere
As a percentage of global GDP, the United States and China have the largest shares, at 25% and 19%, respectively. But holders of U.S. passports can access a further 43 percent of world economic output without a visa, bringing their total to 68 percent; Chinese passport holders can only get an additional 7% visa-free, giving them a total of just 26% of global GDP.
South Korea and Russia have similar GDP, accounting for about 1.9% of global economic output. However, South Korea's visa-free score of 192 gives its passport holders access to 81% of global GDP, while Russia's score of 118, ranking 49th in the world, provides its passport holders with access to only 19% of the world economy. The situation is even worse in India, which ranks 85th in the world, and despite being the world's fifth-largest economy, its passport holders have access to only 59 destinations around the world, accounting for just 6.8% of global GDP, while the country itself accounts for about half of GDP.
Professor Trevor Williams, former chief economist of commercial banking at Lloyd's Bank, said the study proved a causal relationship between tourism capacity, a country's foreign investment, trade growth and economic growth. These associations are mutually reinforcing. Skills and talent flow to places that can work, invest and travel, attracting others who wish to do so and creating a virtuous cycle.
Persian Gulf Arab countries become rising stars The UAE has surpassed Hong Kong in the past decade
While Asian countries remain at the top of the index, the increasing passport strength of the Gulf countries has been identified as a major trend in the coming year. Over the past 10 years, the UAE has risen an astonishing 49 places in the rankings. The UAE ranked 64th in 2013 with a visa-free score of just 72; It is now ranked 15th with a score of 178 and can enter nearly 70% of global GDP. Analysts expect Kuwait and Qatar to sign visa-free agreements with the European Union this year, a move that will significantly improve their Henry passport index scores.
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