Germany retains top spot in list of world’s most powerful passports

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For the second year, German passports top the list of the world’s most powerful

German travellers carry the world’s most powerful passports, while Britain, which shared top billing for three years, has now fallen to number four, below the USA.

With visa-free access to 176 countries, Germany tops the annual travel freedom ranking, despite losing visa-free admission to one country.

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Sweden retains its second place with 175 countries, and Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain and the USA jointly rank third, with easy access to 174 countries.

The UK, however, has slipped to fourth this year, having shared first place with Germany from 2013 to 2015. Last year it was third. Brits now have visa-free access to 173 countries.

It shares this rank with Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Singapore.

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In fifth place are Ireland, Japan and New Zealand; sixth Canada Greece, Portugal and Switzerland, and at number seven are Australia and South Korea. The rest of the top 10 is made up of Iceland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Malta.

The Philippines has moved up one place with visa free access to 61 countries, and now shares 75th ranking with Uganda, one below Azerbaijan, but above Cuba and Ghana.

Unsurprisingly, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan languish at the bottom of the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index, each with visa-free access to fewer than 30 countries.

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Dr Christian H Kälin, chairman of Henley & Partners, said that although the the top 10 remains more or less the same as last year, things could change over the next 12 months.

“We have witnessed several major events recently that are likely to have an impact on global mobility – including Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump,” he said. “Both could be interpreted as steps toward restricting movement and creating barriers to entry.”

The list in full:

1 – Germany
2 – Sweden
3 – Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain, United States
4 – Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, United Kingdom
5 – Ireland, Japan, New Zealand
6 – Canada, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland
7 – Australia, South Korea
8 – Iceland
9 – Czech Republic
10 – Hungary, Malta
11 – Lithuania
12 – Latvia, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia
13 – Estonia, Malaysia
14 – Poland
15 – Monaco
16 – Cyprus
17 – Chile
18 – Brazil
19 – Andorra, San Marino
20 – Argentina, Bulgaria
21 – Croatia, Romania
22 – Hong Kong
23 – Brunei Darussalam
24 – Israel
25 – Barbados
26 – Mexico
27 – Bahamas
28 – Uruguay
29 – Seychelles
30 – Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis
31 – Costa Rica, Taiwan, Vatican City
32 – Trinidad and Tobago
33 – Mauritius
34 – Venezuela
35 – Paraguay
36 – Macao, Panama, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
37 – Grenada
38 – Honduras, United Arab Emirates
39 – El Salvador
40 – Dominica, Guatemala
41 – Peru
42 – Solomon Islands
43 – Serbia
44 – Samoa
45 – Vanuatu
46 – Marshall Islands, Nicaragua
47 – Tonga
48 – Macedonia, Tuvalu
49 – Kiribati
50 – Colombia, Montenegro
51 – Micronesia, Russian Federation
52 – Palau, Turkey
53 – Bosnia Herzegovina
54 – Moldova
55 – Albania, South Africa
56 – Belize
57 – Ecuador, Timor-Leste
58 – Ukraine
59 – Guyana
60 – Kuwait, Maldives, Nauru
61 – Fiji
62 – Jamaica, Qatar
63 – Papua New Guinea
64 – Bolivia
65 – Botswana, Suriname
66 – Bahrain
67 – Kazakhstan, Namibia, Thailand
68 – Georgia, Kenya, Oman
69 – Saudi Arabia
70 – Belarus, Lesotho, Malawi
71 – Gambia, Swaziland
72 – Tanzania,
73 – Cape Verde, Tunisia, Zambia
74 – Azerbaijan
75 – Philippines, Uganda
76 – Cuba, Ghana
77 – Zimbabwe
78 – Armenia, Benin, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco
79 – Indonesia
80 – Burkina Faso, Dominican Republic, Mongolia
81 – Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone
82 – Mauritania
83 – Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Uzbekistan
84 – Niger
85 – Bhutan, Chad, China, Mali, Rwanda
86 – Gabon, Haiti, Madagascar
87 – Guinea-Bissau, India, Turkmenistan, Algeria, Cambodia, Comoros, Egypt, Guinea, Laos
89 – Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea
90 – Angola, Cameroon, Vietnam
91 – Burundi, Nigeria
92 – Congo, Jordan, Liberia
93 – Myanmar
94 – Djibouti, North Korea
95 – Bangladesh, Iran
95 – Sri Lanka
96 – Ethiopia, Lebanon, South Sudan
97 – Nepal, Palestinian Territory, Sudan
98 – Eritrea, Yemen
99 – Libya
100 – Somalia
101 – Syria
102 – Pakistan
103 – Iraq
104 – Afghanistan