Ever wonder which passport is the most powerful in the world? That is to say, the one that allows you to travel to the most countries? Well, a new report called the Visa Restrictions Index for 2016 sheds some light on that subject, ranking the passports that facilitate travel most easily. According to the report, German passport holders have the most freedom to travel around the globe. That travel document is recognized in 177 countries without the need for a visa. Germany was followed closely by Sweden, which had access to 176 countries, while a group of nations that includes Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom each featured visa-free access to 175 countries.
Other top passports include Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States with entry into 174 countries each. While citizens of Singapore, Japan and Austria are welcomed visa-free to 173 destinations around the world.
So which countries have the least powerful passports? That distinction goes to Afghanistan (25 countries), Pakistan (29 countries), and Iraq and Somalia, which have 30 and 31 countries respectively.
The annual report remains fairly static in the upper echelon of passports, although there are occasional changes at the top. For instance, for the past three years Malaysian passports were welcomed in 168 countries, but this year that number dropped to 164, causing it to fall out of the top ten.
Depending on how you count them, there are approximately 196 countries around the world. That helps to give you a sense of just how acceptable these passports are. That means that German passport holders are welcome in all but 19 of the world's countries. That's pretty impressive indeed.
