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T |
he
days of showing a passport at an airport and traveling on a flight are now a
thing of the past.
The
Covid-19 pandemic is likely to change the landscape of air travel for many
years to come.
Lockdowns
are once again being imposed in several countries around the world, and when
the restrictions are lifted, vaccines will likely be required before air
travel.
However,
like every year, the Hanley Index has released a list of 2021 most powerful
passports.
Can
you guess which country has the most powerful passport in the world? If your
answer is America, Britain, or any other western country then it is wrong.
The
most powerful passport in the world is held by Japanese citizens.
Citizens
of Japan can travel to 191 countries without a visa or obtain a visa upon
arrival at the airport.
Singapore
is second with 190 countries having this facility, while South Korean passport
is third with 189 countries.
Italy,
Finland, Spain, and Luxembourg are jointly fourth on the list of passport-free
or on-arrival visa holders, whose citizens have the facility in 188 countries.
Passports
from Denmark and Austria ranked 5th out of 187 countries, while holders of
passports from Sweden, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Ireland can apply
for visa-free or visa-on-arrival in 186 countries.
Passports
in 185 countries are held by citizens of Switzerland, the United States, the
United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, and New Zealand, while passports from Greece,
Malta, the Czech Republic, and Australia ranked eighth on the list.
The
Canadian passport ranks 9th out of 183 countries, while the Hungarian passport
ranks 10th on the list.
The
UAE has made the most progress in recent years, ranking 62nd on the list in 2006
but now at 16th.
In
contrast, the countries with the lowest number of free visas available at the
airport or the airport are the first and second, followed by Afghanistan and
Iraq, which has only 26 and 28 countries, respectively. The facility is available,
while holders of Syrian passports can only use this facility in 29 countries.
Pakistan
ranks fourth with a passport that allows visa-free or visa-on-arrival in 32
countries, while Somalia and Yemen are jointly fifths in terms of passports.
The
Palestinian passport was sixth, the Libyan and Nepalese passports were jointly
7th, while the North Korean passport was 8th.
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