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Pakistani Passport Continues to Be Amongst Worst in World

Only three nations rank below Pakistan in terms of ease of access available to citizens

by Staff Report

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The Henley Passport Index on Tuesday issued its Global Passport Ranking for 2023, ranking the Pakistani passport at 106 of 109 states examined, with only Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan faring worse.

According to the quarterly Index, Pakistan has visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to just 32 destinations, followed by Syria (30), Iraq (29), and Afghanistan (27). In a statement, London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners linked passport strength with economic power, noting that citizens of the worst ranked states were “effectively shut out of a shockingly wide breadth of opportunities for economic mobility and growth.”

The strongest passport—for the fifth consecutive year—belonged to Japan, which has visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 of 199 states in the world. This was followed by Singapore and South Korea, which both have ease of access to 192 states. The rest of the top 10 is comprised of European nations, with Germany (190); Spain (190); Finland (189); Italy (189); Luxembourg (189); Austria (188); and Denmark (188) rounding out the list.

Noting that Afghanistan remains firmly at the bottom of the index, with 166 fewer visa-free destinations than Japan, Henley said this represented the widest global mobility gap in its 18-year history. In its statement, Henkley said combining the Index data with World Bank GDP data provided a direct link between passport strength and economic power. “Take the Japanese passport, for instance, that gives visa-free access to 193 destinations (85% of the world). Collectively, these countries account for a whopping 98% of the global economy (with Japan’s own GDP contribution being around 5%),” it said, noting that by contrast Nigerian passport holders could access only 46 destinations visa-free—or 20 percent of the world that accounts for just 1.5% of global GDP.

“Looking at another set of comparisons, South Korea and Russia have similar national GDPs of around 1.9% of global economic output. However, South Korea has a Henley Passport Index visa-free score of 192, giving its passport holders access to 81% of global GDP, while Russia has a score of just 118, giving its passport holders access to only 19% of the world’s economy,” it said, noting that India fared even worse, as despite having the world’s fifth-largest economy, its passport holders could access just 59 destinations worldwide and only 6.7% of global GDP, of which its own GDP accounts for around half.

Overall, read the statement, just 6% of passports worldwide gave their holders visa-free access to more than 70% of the global economy. Only 17% of countries gave their passport holders visa-free access to more than four-fifths of the world’s 227 destinations,” it added.

“A stronger passport isn’t just about greater freedom of movement: it’s about greater financial freedoms in terms of investing and entrepreneurial opportunities,” said financial writer and global investment expert Jeff D. Opdyke. Prof. Trevor Williams, former chief economist at Lloyd’s Bank Commercial Banking, likewise said the research proves the causal relationship between the ability to travel, foreign investment in a country, increased trade, and economic growth.

Further supporting Henley’s view of the link between passport power and financial stability, it said most of the countries that have fallen sharply over the preceding decade have been afflicted by conflict and economic crises.

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