World passports have been ranked according to their strength by the International Citizenship Assistance Company, with Australia again in the top 10.
Henley & Partners produces a list of the strongest passports each year, and Japan has been number one for the sixth year in a row.
Australian passport holders can travel to 185 countries with relative ease, but there are still many places that require paperwork.
Find out how passports rank and where Australian passports will take you.
The Henley Passport Index is based on the number of places that people with those passports can visit without a visa, but the total score does not include visas, visitor permits, or electronic travel agency passport holders on arrival. It also includes countries where you need to obtain a
Henley & Partners bases its score on 227 destinations. This includes countries and regions not technically classified as countries, such as Taiwan.
The company uses proprietary data from the International Air Transport Association to create the index.
It ranks eighth, alongside Canada, Greece and Malta, behind the other top 22 countries.
This is the same as the last three years when it was ranked 8th.
Australia’s lowest ranking since the index was created in 2006 was ninth in 2019, 2010 and 2006.
Australia’s highest ranking is 6th in 2015, 2013 and 2012.
Henley & Partners classifies countries into four categories: visa-free travel, visas on arrival, electronic travel authorizations, and required visas.
Tap each of the three cards to see which destinations the company falls into these categories.
Replicated visa information, place names, and country categories found in Henley & Partners data.
Passport holders from these countries can travel abroad with relative ease.
Rankings, visa-free scores and place names are reproduced as they appeared in the Henley & Partners data
Citizens of these countries have fewer travel options if they want to avoid encountering blocks and paperwork.
Rankings, visa-free scores and place names are reproduced as they appeared in the Henley & Partners data
Tap the world icon below to see the entire list of each of the 199 passports and where they were ranked.
most powerful passport in the world
1: Japan — visa-free score: 193
2: Singapore and South Korea — visa-free score: 192
3: Germany and Spain — visa-free score: 190
Four: Finland, Italy, Luxembourg — visa-free score: 189
Five: Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden — visa-free score: 188
6: France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom — visa-free score: 187
7: Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, USA — visa-free score: 186
8: Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta — visa-free score: 185
9: Hungary and Poland — visa-free score: 184
Ten: Lithuania and Slovakia — visa-free score: 183
11: Latvia and Slovenia — visa-free score: 182
12: Estonia — visa-free score: 181
13: Iceland — visa-free score: 180
14: Malaysia — visa-free score: 179
15: Liechtenstein and United Arab Emirates — visa-free score: 178
16: Cyprus — visa-free score: 177
17: Romania — visa-free score: 175
18: Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Monaco — visa-free score: 174
19: Hong Kong (SAR China — visa-free score: 171
20: Argentina and Brazil — visa-free score: 170
twenty one: San Marino — visa-free score: 169
twenty two: Andorra — visa-free score: 168
twenty three: Brunei — visa-free score: 166
twenty four: Barbados — visa-free score: 163
twenty five: Israel and Mexico — visa-free score: 159
26: Saint Kitts and Nevis — visa-free score: 157
27: Bahamas — visa-free score: 155
28: Vatican City — visa-free score: 154
29: Seychelles and Uruguay — visa-free score: 153
30: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — visa-free score: 152
31: Antigua and Barbuda tied with Trinidad and Tobago — visa-free score: 151
32: Costa Rica — visa-free score: 150
33: Saint Lucia — visa-free score: 147
34: Grenada and Mauritius — visa-free score: 146
35: Dominica and Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) — visa-free score: 145
36: Macau (Special Administrative Region of China), Panama, Ukraine — visa-free score: 144
37: Paraguay — visa-free score: 142
38: Peru — visa-free score: 136
38: Serbia — visa-free score: 136
39: Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras — visa-free score: 133
40: El Salvador, Samoa, Solomon Islands — visa-free score: 132
41: Tonga — visa-free score: 130
42: Venezuela — visa-free score: 129
43: Nicaragua and Tuvalu — visa-free score: 128
44: North Macedonia — visa-free score: 125
45: Kiribati and Montenegro — visa-free score: 124
46: Marshall Islands — visa-free score: 123
47: Moldova — visa-free score: 121
48: Palau Islands — visa-free score: 120
49: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Micronesia, Russian Federation — visa-free score: 118
50: Georgia — visa-free score: 116
51: Albania — visa-free score: 115
52: Turkey — visa-free score: 110
53: South Africa — visa-free score: 106
54: Belize — visa-free score: 103
55: Qatar — visa-free score: 100
56: Vanuatu — visa-free score: 98
57: Kuwait — visa-free score: 7
58: Timor-Leste — visa-free score: 94
59: Ecuador — visa-free score: 92
60: Nauru — visa-free score: 90
61: Maldives — visa-free score: 89
62: Fiji and Guyana — visa-free score: 88
63: Bahrain, Botswana, Jamaica — visa-free score: 87
64: Papua New Guinea — visa-free score: 83
65: Oman and Saudi Arabia — visa-free score: 82
66: Bolivia — visa-free score: 80
66: China — visa-free score: 80
67: Namibia — visa-free score: 79
68: Belarus and Thailand — visa-free score: 78
69: Lesotho — visa-free score: 77
70: Kazakhstan and Suriname — visa-free score: 76
71: Eswatini — visa-free score: 75
72: Malawi — visa-free score: 74
73: Kenya — visa-free score: 73
74: Tanzania — visa-free score: 72
75: Indonesia and Zambia — visa-free score: 71
76: Azerbaijan, Dominican Republic, Tunisia — visa-free score: 70
77: Gambia — visa-free score: 69
78: Philippines and Uganda — visa-free score: 67
79: Armenia, Cape Verde Islands, Zimbabwe — visa-free score: 66
80: Cuba, Ghana, Morocco — visa-free score: 65
81: Kyrgyzstan and Sierra Leone — visa-free score: 64
82: Mongolia and Mozambique — visa-free score: 62
83: Benin and Rwanda — visa-free score: 61
84: Sao Tome and Principe tied with Tajikistan — visa-free score: 60
85: India, Mauritania, Uzbekistan — visa-free score: 59
86: Burkina Faso — visa-free score: 58
87: Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Senegal — visa-free score: 57
88: Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Madagascar, Togo, Vietnam — visa-free score: 55
89: Cambodia and Mali — visa-free score: 54
90: Algeria, Bhutan, Chad, Comoros, Egypt, Jordan, Niger, Turkmenistan — visa-free score: 53
91: Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau — visa-free score: 52
92: Angola and Cameroon — visa-free score: 51
93: Burundi and Laos — visa-free score: 50
94: Congo (Republic), Haiti, Liberia — visa-free score: 49
95: Djibouti — visa-free score: 48
96: Myanmar — visa-free score: 47
97: Ethiopia and Nigeria — visa-free score: 46
98: Eritrea and South Sudan — visa-free score: 44
99: Iran — visa-free score: 43
100: Congo (Democrat), Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Sudan — visa-free score: 42
101: Bangladesh, Kosovo, Libya — visa-free score: 41
102: North Korea — visa-free score: 40
103: Nepal and Palestinian Territories — visa-free score: 38
104: Somalia — visa-free score: 35
105: Yemen — visa-free score: 34
106: Pakistan — visa-free score: 32
107: Syria — visa-free score: 30
108: Iraq — visa-free score: 29
109: Afghanistan — visa-free score: 27
Rankings, visa-free scores and place names are reproduced as they appeared in the Henley & Partners data
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left neither country impacted in terms of the Henry Passport Index, according to a press release that says it has been in much the same position since the war began.
However, the company says that while “in theory” it is not significantly affected, in practice there is a difference.
“Due to airspace closures and sanctions, Russian citizens are effectively barred from traveling to most developed countries, with the exception of the focal points Dubai and Istanbul,” the company said in a statement.
“On the other hand, Ukrainians are entitled to live and work in Ukraine. [European Union] Up to three years under an emergency plan to respond to Europe’s biggest refugee crisis of the century.”
The company said that if Ukraine succeeds in joining the European Union, it will probably be among the top 10 most powerful passports in the world.
Operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Smartraveller provides Australians with general advice on international travel. This includes how to stay safe abroad.
Advice to countries will be updated in response to various factors such as war and civil strife, and may change depending on what is happening in each country.
The latest update was on January 11th and the oldest was on June 27th, 2022.
Advice, place names, and country categories are replicated as listed by Smartraveller on January 14th.
