The passports of Germany and Sweden are ranked the most powerful in the world as they both have a Visa-Free Score of 156 on the “passport index,” where the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and 6 territories, 199 altogether, are considered. Data is based on proprietary research from publicly available sources and on official information provided by government agencies.
The Arton Capital Passport Index is an online interactive tool, which collects, displays and ranks the passports of the world. The purpose of this elaborate exercise is to showcase, educate and inform the public on the power that passports transcend on the holder’s identity, opportunity, mobility and overall quality of life.
To determine the individual rank of each passport, a three-tier method is applied:
Visa-Free Score (VFS) – includes visa-free (VF) and visa on arrival (VOA)
The VF portion of their score vs VOA
United Nations Development Program Human Development Index (UNDP HDI) is used as a tie breaker. The UNDP HDI is a significant measure on the country’s perception abroad.
Arton Capital is a global financial advisory firm, specializing in investor programs for residence and citizenship. Its Passport Index is meant to encourage discussions on visa policies, citizenship, country branding, global mobility, public security, philanthropy and foreign policy. “In today’s world, becoming a Global Citizen is more important than ever,” their website explains. “Having a second citizenship is a liberating and empowering privilege which comes with a responsibility to the world.”
Their live global ranking of passports is updated as frequently as new visa waivers and changes are announced. Visitors to the Index website can dive in the fascinating world of passports, explore their designs, sort them by country, region and even by color, and compare passports side by side.
Germany’s passport, in first place, has the enviable visa-free score of 157, as does Sweden’s.
In the second rank are Finland, Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
The US is down in 5th rank, with a visa-free score of 154, together with Singapore, Luxembourg, Austria and Portugal.
The Israeli passport does not fare so well, as was to be expected. It is ranked 17th in terms of its usefulness to its holders, with a visa free score of 138, together with Hong Kong, Chile, and San Marino.
The worst passport in the world is issued by Afghanistan, ranked in 92nd place.
The passport of the imagined country of the Palestinian Territories is ranked 86th, with a visa-free score of 37, in the same rank as Bangladesh, Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Which is a better spot than Syria’s passport, ranked 88th in the world. Saudi Arabia, which one would think would have a popular passport, is ranked 58th, possibly because of its stiff limits on who may visit the Kingdom.