“If life gives you a passport size dream, don't frame it... Order for a reprint...”
And while you’re at it, try getting a hold of a Japanese one because according to the live index conducted by London-based consulting firm Henley & Partners with the International Air Transport Association which collectively ranks passports of nations on varying factors the Japanese Passport was crowned the supreme position. Japan trumped Germany to reach this pinnacle, a position that the latter held successively for half a decade. The ever so welcoming Land of the Rising Sun offers visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 189 nations while Germany and Singapore finished a close second by offering the same to 188 destinations across the world.
Want to know where your country stands; here take a look at the top 8 rankings:
(Number of countries that can be visited without a visa)
Japan - 189
Germany, Singapore - 188
Finland, France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, South Korea - 187
Norway, United Kingdom, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, United States - 186
Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, Canada - 185
Australia, Greece - 183
New Zealand, Czech Republic, Malta - 182
Iceland – 181
Highlighting the importance of multiculturalism in business and travel, Christian H. Kälin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners, highlighted the importance of visa-free access by stating, “Across the economic spectrum, individuals want to transcend the constraints imposed on them by their country of origin and access business, financial, career, and lifestyle opportunities on a global scale." At a day and age where globalisation determines the legacy of nations, the power of the passport emerges as winner, thus, the possibility of changes in such policies seems to be highly expected.
