Pakistan’s passport slips to fourth worst world ranking

Pakistan’s passport has recently faced a challenging ranking among the five worst globally, according to the esteemed London-based advisory firm, Henley & Partners.

Islamabad: Henley & Partners, the global citizenship and residency advisory firm, has ranked Pakistan as one of the fourth worst passport nations in the world. According to the report, Pakistanis had access to 35 countries with a visa-on-arrival facility as of January this year, which has now been reduced to 33, The News International reported.

The nation of more than 220 million is located in position 100 among the 227 countries evaluated in the index, whose results are estimated through the number of destinations that its residents can access without having a prior visa.

Earlier this year, Pakistan was ranked among the five worst passports, according to the Londonconsulting firm based at Henly & Partners. India ranks 80th on the list with 57 countries granting visa-on-arrival facilities to Indians.

Meanwhile, Singapore leads the index for the world’s most coveted passport, pushing Japan, which topped the list for the past five years, to third place shared with South Korea, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg and Sweden, granting its citizens access to 189 visa-free destinations, The News International reported.

Singaporeans, on the other hand, can visit at least 193 visa-free destinations worldwide out of a total of 227. While Asia has conventionally dominated the rankings in the index, Europe is making a comeback with Germany, Italy and Spain climbing to second place, offering visa-free access to 190 destinations.

The United States of America and the United Kingdom, which once led the index, are seeing their rankings plummet. However, Britain has shown improvement, rising to fourth place, while the US ranks down to eighth with access to 183 visa-free destinations, The News International reported.

The Henley Passport Index, which ranks 199 passports based on International Air Transport Association (IATA) data, is updated regularly to reflect changes in visa policies. The average number of visa-free destinations, over the years, for travelers has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109.

Despite the case, there remains a significant gap in travel freedom between the highest-ranked and lowest-ranked countries. Citizens of countries ravaged by conflict, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, have the bare minimum of travel privileges, with access to just 27, 29 and 30 destinations, respectively, The News International reported.

“The overall trend over the ranking’s 18-year history has been towards greater travel freedom, with the average number of destinations travelers can access visa-free nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2023,” a Henley & Partners statement read.