Most Powerful Passports: South Africa ranks up to higher spot

What's South Africa's number? Photo: canva

Henley & Partners recently published its 2023 Passport Index report, and South Africa now features at a higher spot…

What’s South Africa’s number? Photo: canva

Powerful Passports: What are they?

Henley & Partners recently released their Passport Index: Q3 2023 Factsheet, which essentially ranks the travel documents 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 currently includes 199 countries and 227 travel destinations, giving users the most extensive and reliable information about their global access and mobility.

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.”

The index gives users the most extensive and reliable information about their global access and mobility. Photo: canva

Top 10 passports

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

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

Whats SA’s number?

South Africa’s passport jumped up a spot from last year, coming in at number 54. According to this position, South African passport holders can now travel to 106 countries visa-free.

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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.