Most Powerful Passports ranked: what’s SA’s number?

How powerful is your passport? Photo: WanderLabs / unsplash

Henley & Partners has published its latest Passport Index report, ranking the most powerful passports in the world. Here’s where South Africa features…

How powerful is your passport? Photo: WanderLabs / unsplash

Powerful Passports: What are they?

Henley & Partners recently released their Passport Index: Q3 2022 Factsheet, which essentially ranks the passports from all the different countries in the world and determines their power. By ‘power’, the index refers to the ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, giving users the most extensive and reliable information about their global access and mobility.

The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information.

According to the factsheet, “the index’s scoring system was developed to give users a practical, and reliable overview of their passport’s power. Each passport is scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free. For each travel destination, if no visa is required, then a score
of 1 is allocated for that passport. This also applies if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) upon entry.”

Top 10 passports

The top 10 most powerful passports, according to CNN were as follows:

1. Japan (193 destinations)
2. Singapore, South Korea (192 destinations)
3. Germany, Spain (190 destinations)
4. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg (189 destinations)
5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden (188 destinations)
6. France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom (187 destinations)
7. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States (186 destinations)
8. Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta (185 destinations)
9. Hungary (183 destinations)
10. Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia (182 destinations)

Where did South Africa rank?

A South African passport. Photo: Mpho Mojapelo / unsplash

South Africa didn’t seem to fare too badly, taking a spot at number 55 out of a total of 112 rankings on the factsheet. According to this position, South African passport holders can travel to 105 countries visa-free.

You can access the full Henley Passport Index Factsheet here.

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Sundeeka Mungroo

Sundeeka Mungroo is a content writer, foodie and all-round adventure-seeker. She's a graduate of the University of South Africa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, and has worked as a copywriter and editor in the digital marketing industry. Sundeeka currently writes for I Love South Africa and The South African. She lives in the beautiful Mother City and loves exploring all that South Africa has to offer.