Singapore has the most advantageous passport in the world, France very well placed

192 destinations, out of 227 in the world, accessible without a visa. This is the significant advantage that Singaporeans enjoy today. The country thus ranks at the top of the Henley Passport Index*, which measures the freedom to travel around the world according to nationality, counting the number of countries to which the official document allows access without a visa.

According to the regularly updated indicator based on data from the International Air Transport Association, Singapore has just dethroned Japan. The latter is relegated to third place, after dominating the ranking for five years.

European countries top the table

The second novelty of this ranking is the arrival of European countries at the top of the table, traditionally dominated by Asian nations. Germany, Italy and Spain, whose respective passports allow free travel to 190 different countries, occupy second place in the ranking.

France, meanwhile, must share the last step of the podium with Japan, South Korea, Austria, Finland, Luxembourg and Sweden. In fact, citizens of these seven countries can travel to 189 different countries without a visa. Note that the only country that differentiates Germany from France is Myanmar (Burma).

For the United Kingdom and the United States, the decline continues. first fruits ex aequo in 2014, English-speaking nations ranked fourth and eighth, respectively.

109 countries accessible on average

Freedom of movement seems to have improved at one point in the world. In fact, the average number of destinations that can be accessed without a visa has increased significantly in the last eighteen years. It has gone from 58 in 2006 to 109 today, says the consulting firm Henley & Partners in a press release published on July 18.

But it hides deep disparities that have worsened over the years. From this point of view, Afghans are the most restricted since they can only go to 27 countries in the world without a visa. The number of visa-free accessible countries for Iraqis has reached 29. Syrian passport holders can cross the borders of 30 countries in the world.

*199 countries are classified by the Henley cabinet. Since some countries have free access to the same number of countries, they are ranked at the same level. The last country in the ranking (Afghanistan) thus ranks 103rd.