Greek Passport Ranks 6th Among the World’s Most Powerful

Source: Henley & Partners

The Greek passport ranks sixth among the world’s most powerful, according to new data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), released by Henley & Partners this week.

The Henley Passport Index measures passport strength based on visa-free access, indicating that the Greek passport allows entry to 188 out of 227 countries worldwide.

Greece’s lowest ranking was 12th in 2010, while its highest, which it has achieved before, is the current sixth place.

Source: Henley & Partners

Top of the tops: Singapore

Singapore has reclaimed its title as the country with the world’s most powerful passport, breaking away from the group of six countries that shared the top spot on the Henley Index at the start of the year. Singaporean citizens now enjoy visa-free access to 195 out of 227 travel destinations, setting a new record score.

France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain have dropped to joint second place, each offering visa-free access to 192 destinations. An unprecedented seven-nation cohort — Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden — now share third place, each with access to 191 destinations without a prior visa.

The UK remains in fourth place, along with Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland, despite their visa-free destination score falling to 190.

Australia and Portugal both rank fifth and offer visa-free access to 189 destinations.

Completing the world’s Top 10 most powerful passports are those from Greece and Poland (188 destinations) in sixth place; Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Malta (187 destinations) in seventh place; the US in eighth (186 destinations); Estonia, Lithuania, and the United Arab Emirates in ninth (185 destinations); and Iceland, Latvia, Slovakia, and Slovenia in tenth (184 destinations).

Visa reciprocity factor pivotal

Former passport powerhouses, the UK and the US, jointly held 1st place on the index 10 years ago in 2014. One of the most important factors shaping visa-free access for national passports is reciprocity.

While American passport holders can access 186 (out of 227) destinations visa-free, the US itself allows only 45 other nationalities to pass through its borders visa-free, placing it way down the Henley Openness Index in 78th place (compared to 8th place on the Henley Passport Index).

111 is the average number of visa-free destinations worldwide in 2024

Photo source: Henley & Partners

Commenting in the July 2024 edition of the Henley Global Mobility Report, Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, said, “The general trend over the past two decades has been towards greater travel freedom, with the global average number of destinations travelers are able to access visa-free nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.”

He added, however, that the gap between those at the top and bottom rankings is widening, “and is now wider than it has ever been, with top-ranked Singapore able to access a record-breaking 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan remains firmly entrenched as the world’s weakest passport, losing access to yet another destination over the past six months, leaving its citizens with access to only 26 countries visa-free — the lowest score ever recorded in the history of the 19-year-old index.