The Henley Passport Index, which has been regularly monitoring the world's most travel-friendly passports since 2006, has released its latest rankings and analysis. As the index doesn't take temporary restrictions into account, Japan is once again top of the leaderboard, with its passport offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations around the world.
However, the Henley & Partners report says, in the first quarter of 2021 international mobility was still only 12% of its pre-pandemic levels, meaning "the gulf between theoretical and actual travel access offered by even high-ranking passports remains significant."
In the real world, holders of Japanese passports theoretically have access right now to fewer than 80 destinations -- about the same as the index ranking of Saudi Arabia, which sits down in 71st place (while Saudis currently have actual travel access to just 58 destinations).
The passport top 10 remains virtually unchanged as we enter the second half of the year, with Singapore remaining in second place (with a score of 192) and South Korea tying with Germany in third place (with a score of 191).
Again, in real-world terms, it's a little different. Holders of Singaporean passports can right now access fewer than 75 destinations (equivalent to the index ranking of Kazakhstan, which is down in 74th place).
China and UAE biggest climbers
Even countries with highly successful Covid-19 vaccine rollouts are still bound by travel restrictions. Since 2011, China has climbed 22 places -- from 90th position to 68th -- while the UAE has gone all the way from No. 65 to No. 15. Its work on strengthening diplomatic ties around the world now means that its citizens are allowed easy access to 174 destinations, compared to the 67 destinations of a decade ago.
As usual, most of the remaining top 10 spots on the index are held by EU countries. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain are in fourth place; Austria, Denmark are at number five; while France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden are together at number six. In terms of travel freedom, the big success stories of the past decade have been China and the United Arab Emirates.
Top 10 most powerful passports
1. Japan (193)
2. Singapore (192)
3. South Korea; Germany (191)
4. Italy; Finland; Spain; Luxembourg (190)
5. Denmark; Austria (189)
6. Sweden; France; Portugal; Netherlands; Ireland (188)
7. Switzerland; US; UK; Belgium; New Zealand (187)
8. Norway; Greece; Malta; Czech Republic (186)
9. Canada; Australia (185)
10. Hungary (184)
