Great news! According to the 2024 Passport Index by Henley and Partners, the UAE passport has strengthened, securing the 11th position and providing visa-free access to 183 countries. Over the past decade, the UAE has been the most significant mover on the Index, gaining an impressive 106 destinations since 2014.
In the GCC, UAE has maintained it's top spot, and other countries in the region bagged respective positions. Qatar bagged the 53 spot, Kuwait is at 55, Bahrain at 59, Oman at 60 and Saudi Arabia at 61.
In terms of lower scores on the Henley and Partner's 2024 Passport Index, Afghanistan holds the lowest position at 104, followed by Syria at 103, Iraq at 102, Pakistan at 101, and Yemen at 100, placing them at the bottom of the rankings. Bangladesh has moved up one position to 97th place, while India's passport has climbed three positions to 80th place.
Now, speaking about the toppers of the list, on a global scale, four European countries, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, have joined Japan and Singapore in holding the most influential passports worldwide. Citizens of these countries enjoy visa-free access to 194 destinations out of 227 globally.
As per the 2024 Henley Passport Index, the world's most powerful passports are as follows:
- France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain (194 destinations)
- Finland, South Korea, Sweden (193 destinations)
- Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands (192 destinations)
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom (191 destinations)
- Greece, Malta, Switzerland (190 destinations)
- Australia, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Poland (189 destinations)
- Canada, Hungary, United States (188 destinations)
- Estonia, Lithuania (187 destinations)
- Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia (186 destinations)
- Iceland (185 destinations)