Pakistan’s passport retained its position as the fourth-worst in the world, according to The Henley Passport Index – a London-based immigration consultancy – as it released its Q3 2023 Global Ranking on Tuesday.

Pakistan was ranked at the same position in the same period of the previous year as well as in December 2022, coming ahead only of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Its score of 33 is a slight improvement from 32 last year.

Scoring methodology

For each travel destination, if no visa is required for passport holders from a country or territory, then a score with value 1 is created for that passport. A score with value 1 is also applied if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination.

Top of the list

Singapore replaced Japan for having the world’s most powerful passport, allowing visa-free or on-arrival visa entry to 192 global destinations, according to the index.

After five years at the top, Japan dropped to third place as the number destinations it can access without a prior visa fell.

Germany, Italy and Spain were in second place, followed by Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden in third place, respectively.

The United States, which once topped the ranking nearly a decade ago, slid two places to eighth place. The United Kingdom jumped two places to fourth, a position it last held in 2017.

The Henley Passport Index is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Henley & Partners’ research team. Each of the 199 passports on the list is checked against 227 possible travel destinations and the score is updated throughout the year as conditions change.

China’s mega-rich move their wealth, and partying, to Singapore

Singapore has recently become a magnet for high net-worth Chinese nationals who have been driven to the island country following a crackdown on private enterprise in China and fears over geopolitical tensions.

Singapore was also recently ranked as the most expensive city in the world for luxury living, by the Global Wealth & Lifestyle Report 2023, published by Swiss wealth management firm Julius Baer Group LTD.

Disillusioned at home, super-rich Chinese set their sights on Singapore