Daily Times

According to Henley & Partners, a global citizenship and residence advisory firm, Pakistan has the fourth weakest passport in the world.

The country is ranked 100th out of 227 countries on the index, based on the number of visa-free destinations accessible to Pakistani residents.

The London-based advisory firm named the country of over 220 million people as one of the five with the worst passports earlier this year.

According to the report, until January of this year, Pakistanis had access to 35 countries with on-arrival visa facilities, which has now been reduced to 33.

Meanwhile, Singapore leads the index as the most sought-after passport in the world, pushing Japan, which had led the list for the previous five years, to third place, along with South Korea, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, and Sweden, granting citizens access to 189 destinations without a prior visa.

Singaporeans, on the other hand, can visit at least 193 of the world’s 227 visa-free destinations.

While Asia has traditionally dominated the index rankings, Europe is making a comeback, with Germany, Italy, and Spain rising to second place, offering visa-free access to 190 destinations.

The United States of America and the United Kingdom, which once led the index, are seeing their rankings plummet. However, Britain has risen to fourth place, while the United States has dropped to eighth place, with access to 183 visa-free destinations.

The Henley Passport Index, which ranks 199 passports using International Air Transport Association (IATA) data, is updated on a regular basis to reflect changes in visa policies. Over the years, the average number of visa-free destinations for travelers has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109.

Despite the case, there remains a significant gap in travel freedom between the top-ranked and bottom-ranked countries. Nationals of conflict-ridden countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, possess the least travel privileges, with access to just 27, 29, and 30 destinations, respectively.

“The general trend over the history of the 18-year-old ranking has been towards greater travel freedom, with the average number of destinations travelers are able to access visa-free nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2023,” a statement by Henley & Partners read.