TAG: GS-2: GOVERNANCE & GS-3: ECONOMIC
THE CONTEXT: The Indian passport has been ranked 82nd in the Henley Passport Index 2024, providing visa-free entry to 58 countries, including Indonesia, Maldives and Thailand. Singapore tops the index with visa-free entry to 195 countries.
EXPLANATION:
About the Henley Passport Index
- It is the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. It started in 2006 as the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index (HVRI).
- The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest, most accurate travel information database, and enhanced by Henley & Partners’ research team.
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- The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.
- The number of countries that a specific passport can access becomes its visa-free ‘score’.
Highlights of Henley Passport Index 2024:
- France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain hold the top spot as the world’s most powerful passports, allowing visa-free entry to 194 global destinations.
- The average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled, from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.
- India’s passport ranked 82nd in the list, with citizens allowed to travel to 57 countries without a visa.
- Afghanistan occupies the bottom spot on the list, with access to just 28 countries without a visa.
- Syria, with visa-free access to only 29 destinations, holds the second-lowest position, followed by Iraq with 31 and Pakistan with 34.
- The United Arab Emirates was the fastest climber over the past decade, jumping to 11th place and offering access to 183 destinations without a visa.
Noteworthy Climbs and Drops:
- UAE: Rose from 62nd to 9th, now with access to 185 destinations.
- China: Improved from 83rd to 59th, gaining access to 85 destinations.
- Ukraine: Jumped from 53rd to 30th with access to 148 destinations.
- Venezuela: Dropped from 25th to 42nd.
- Other countries like Yemen, Nigeria, and Syria also experienced declines.
- Bangladesh fell from 86th to 97th.
Access Discrepancies:
- Significant disparities in passport strength and openness levels exist in Nepal, Djibouti, Burundi, Sri Lanka, and Somalia. On the other hand, there is a substantial correlation between passport quality and access in nations like Barbados, Singapore, Barbados, Malaysia, and the Bahamas, where there are very few disparities.
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