Singapore passport slips to 2nd most powerful in the world

Singapore has world's 2nd most 'powerful' passport: 2017 Index
Singapore passport By Noble (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Singapore passport is the second most powerful passport in the world, with Germany taking the top spot in the latest rankings released by the Henley Passport Index.

German passport holders get visa-free access to 177 countries, which puts them top of the list for the fifth consecutive year.

Meanwhile Singapore passport holders enjoy visa-free access to 176 countries, up from 173 last year.

Singapore passport was ranked most powerful passport in the world by the Passport Index in October. It is published by the global financial advisory company Arton Capital, and is updated in real time.

Also Read: Singapore passport 'most powerful' in the world

"We live in a challenging economy today. Looking at factors such as the US travel ban, isolationist and protectionist practices, it is evident that seamless global mobility will continue to face impediments that need to be bridged," said Dominic Volek, managing partner of Henley & Partners Singapore and head for South-east Asia.

Iraq (27), Syria (28) and Pakistan (30) also sit at the bottom of the list for the second year running.

The Henley Passport Index is an annual ranking of passport power by the citizenship planning firm. It evaluated the passport strength of 199 countries - using data from the last 13 years.

2018 Henley Passport Index

  1. Germany (177)
  2. Singapore (176)
  3. Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, UK (175)
  4. Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland (174)
  5. Ireland, United States, South Korea, Portugal (173)

This article was first published on January 10, 2018
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