NEW DELHI: Henley Passport Index, which ranks world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holder can access without a prior visa, has ranked India 87th globally out of 199 passports.
The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is corroborated by a research team Henley and Partners.
As countries start recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and re-open borders with a view to encourage travel, several Asian countries have climbed the chart this time.
Japan, Singapore and South Korea have topped the Index. The Asian giants’ top ranking reverses pre-pandemic rankings dominated by European nations.
“A Japanese passport provides visa-free access to 193 countries, one more than those from Singapore and South Korea. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February, is ranked 50th, with access to 119 nations. Ukraine is ranked 35th with access to 144 nations,” according to the index.
China is placed 69th with access to 80 countries whereas India is 87th. Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are at the bottom of the ladder. Afghanistan’s passport offers hassle-free access to only 27 countries.
“The index defines the strength of diplomatic relations of any one country with others; essentially, the more one country has ‘ease of access’ to others, the higher its ranking,” according to the index.
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