The world’s most powerful passport now belongs to the citizens of Singapore, according to Arton Capital’s Global Passport Power Rank 2017.
The city-state moved up from second place as Ukraine extended its visa-on-arrival travel to Singapore passport holders for periods of 15 days, AsiaOne reported. Both nations have been enjoying diplomatic relations since 1992.
As a result, Singapore’s visa-free score hit 159, placing it at the top spot alongside Germany. Sweden is at second place with 158.
However, Germany still shares the top spot in terms of individual ranking. As Arton Capital explained, the Passport Index visa-free free score is composed of a score for (1) visa-free travel and a score for (2) visa-on-arrival, with the former weighing more.
Germany’s score of 159 is the sum of a visa-free score of 125 and a visa-on-arrival score of 34, while Singapore’s 159 is a visa-free score of 122 and a visa-on-arrival score of 37.
In Asia, Singapore is followed by South Korea (157), Japan (156) and Malaysia (156). Afghanistan’s passport proves to be the least powerful with a dismal score of 24.
Arton Capital’s Global Passport Power Rank compares the passports of United Nations’ 193 member states and six territories. It was published by Henley & Partners.
Check out this year’s full ranking here.
