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The New Zealand passport has been named the most powerful in the world in a new classification, not that it is of much use to adventurous Kiwis, who are currently discouraged from all international travel.
The Passport Index ranked the 193 member countries of the United Nations based on the number of countries to which their passports granted visa-free access or allowed visitors to obtain a visa upon arrival.
New Zealand secured the top spot with a score of 129 countries, followed by Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, South Korea, Japan and Australia, all with a score of 128.
In third place were Sweden, Belgium, France, Finland, Italy and Spain, while the United Kingdom joined the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Lithuania, Norway, Iceland and Canada in fourth place.
The United States is conspicuously absent from the top 10, ranking 21st along with Malaysia with visa-free access to 52 countries and visa-on-arrival for 40 destinations.
In last place are Afghanistan and Iraq, both scoring just 31, followed by Syria (34), Somalia (35) and Yemen (36).
The passport index highlights that the coronavirus pandemic has had a chaotic impact on travel and ‘global openness’ in general.
“Despite the high volatility of passport power over the past year, the Passport Index has updated passport rankings in real time, showing the true effect of the pandemic on passport rankings,” the website says.
“The data is clear: with temporary travel bans and visa restrictions, many countries that once had a powerful passport are now among the lowest in the world.
“Through another lens, Passport Index shows the clear influence of the pandemic with its World Openness Score (WOS), the benchmark for open travel between countries.
“Since its inception in 2015, the WOS has continued to grow at an average rate of 6% per year, reaching an unprecedented global opening of 54% in December 2019.
“Once the pandemic hit, although active visa arrangements were unchanged, temporary entry bans and border closures resulted in a staggering decrease in WOS, dropping 65 percent in a few weeks.”
More powerful passports
2. Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, South Korea, Japan, Australia
3. Sweden, Belgium, France, Finland, Italy, Spain
4. United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Lithuania, Norway, Iceland, Canada
5. Malta, Slovenia, Latvia
6. Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Liechtenstein
8. Cyprus, Croatia, Monaco
10. San Marino, Andorra, Uruguay
Less powerful passports
5. Iran, Palestinian territories
8. Ethiopia, Lebanon, Libya, Nepal, Eritrea
9. Bangladesh, South Sudan
