Since March, the coronavirus pandemic may have minimized travel and passport use abroad, but their strength is still a value. According to the Passport Index, Cyprus is also among the countries with the strongest passports in the world for 2020.
The Cypriot passport is in eighth place, along with Croatia and Monaco, and offers easy access to 121 countries.
The list is based on various parameters, including visa requirements and the convenience of a travel passport. New Zealand tops the list, with Oceania passport holders travelling to 129 countries, either without a visa or by issuing a permit upon arrival.
The second place is shared by Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, with holders of these passports can travel to 128 countries without having to issue a visa before departure. Sweden, Belgium, France, Finland, Italy, and Spain are in third place, with visa-free access or easy visa issuance in 127 countries. Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, and Canada are in fourth place, followed by Malta, Slovenia, and Latvia.
The Greek passport offers easy access to 124 countries, based on the ranking data. Along with Greece, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, and Liechtenstein share the sixth place. In seventh place on the list is Slovakia.
Unsurprisingly, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy, and the Netherlands are among the top 5 passport ratings in the last decade.
While in 2010, the United Kingdom topped the list of the highest-ranking, by 2019, it has fallen to 5th place, sharing its new ranking with Canada and New Zealand and five other European nations. After Brexit, the UK will either see its return to the past or fall even lower. A notable absence is the US. According to the Trump administration, the American passport received little attention.