Henley & Partners, which offers consultancy services in global residence and citizenship planning, publishes an annual scoreboard called the "Henley Passport Index". On the basis of information supplied by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the list establishes which is the most powerful passport in the world. Good news: Belgium is among the top five.
A passport that is powerful does not mean that it can carry your luggage for you (unfortunately), but it does allow you access to a large number of countries without any need for a visa. The best example? Germany. Indeed, out of the 199 States selected by Henley & Partners, German citizens are free to travel in 177 of them simply with their passport. That is why Germany is top of the scoreboard, followed by Singapore, the passport of which ensures access to 176 countries.
With a passport that opens the doors to 174 countries, Belgium is in fourth place along with Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Spain. Thus, it is ahead of the United States (173), Canada (172) and Australia (171). The third position is held by passports from Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom.
On the other end of the spectrum, the passports of Afghanistan (24 countries), Iraq (27 countries) and Syria (28 countries) are at the very bottom of the scoreboard, while Georgia (44th position) and Ukraine (53rd position) are the countries most likely to experience the greatest change in terms of global mobility.
