Henley Passport Index 2021

The International Air Transport Association have recently launched The Henley Passport Index. To publish its report, the Association had surveyed around 227 different travel destinations. The index was prepared on the basis of the number of destinations the holders can access without visa.

Findings of the report

1. The report finds that, even though the world is fighting with the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan has topped the list. Japan has emerged as the most powerful passport in the world for the year 2021.
2. Singapore is at the second place having score of 190.
3. South Korea and Germany have been placed at third with the score of 189.
4. United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Switzerland together have been placed at the seventh position.
5. Australia stands at the 8th position with a visa score of 184.
6. India has been ranked at the 85th position with its score 58.
7. On the other hand, Pakistan and Nepal continues to maintain their “worst passport to hold” category. Pakistan has been ranked 107 while Nepal has been ranked 104. Pakistan got a visa-free score of 32 countries and Nepal got score of 38 countries.
8. Apart from them, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan also come in the category of “worst passport to hold”. They have got the score of 29, 28 and 26 respectively.
9. The report further highlights that, over the last sixteen years European Union countries, USA and UK were occupying the top position in the index. But, this year, Asia Pacific countries have emerged as the top performers.

About Japan’s Performance

As per the Index, Japanese citizens can travel to 191 countries visa-free or visa-on-arrival access.

Why Top performer trend has changed?

The EU countries, the US and the UK are still facing significant challenges related to the virus. Also, The UK has traced a new variant of Corona Virus. Thus, the passport strength these countries have eroded. The balance of power is also shifting. Further, The Asia-Pacific Countries are among the first countries who have began the process of recovering from the pandemic.