When traveling internationally, the power of a passport cannot be underestimated. After all, it almost single-handedly determines the ease with which its holder can cross borders and explore new horizons.
On Wednesday, January 10, consulting firm Henley & Partners released its ranking of the world's passports for the first quarter of 2024.
Cyprus moved up one place to 12th place in the Henley Passport Index.
It should be noted that the same indicators Cyprus passport reached only in 2006 and the third quarter of 2023, and the worst was 2012, when it fell to the 20th place. By the way, today the owners of Cypriot passports can travel without visas to 182 countries around the world.
Recall that the data of the consulting company Henley & Partners, is based on the figures of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
It is noteworthy that for the first time in 19 years of the company's observations, six countries took the first place with a record number of opportunities for visa-free travel: four of them are European Union countries - Germany, Italy, Spain and France, and two Asian countries - Singapore and Japan. Passport holders from these countries can travel visa-free to 194 destinations around the world (out of 227).
South Korea, Finland, and Sweden ranked second (193 visa-free destinations), with Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands sharing third place (192). The top 10 countries in the new Index are European countries. The UK has moved to fourth position (191), while the US is in seventh place (187). It has been 10 years since both these countries topped the Index in 2014.
Afghanistan (27 visa-free destinations), Syria (29 visa-free destinations), and Iraq (31 visa-free destinations) continue to occupy the last places in the ranking.
Future global economic progress depends on lagging regions showing significant improvement in their openness to each other, as well as more prosperous blocs and countries showing greater openness to developing countries," commented Trevor Williams, former chief economist at Lloyd's Bank Commercial Banking, on the Henley Passport Index 2024 results.
The Henley Passport Index is a ranking of all the world's passports according to the number of destinations their holders can reach without a prior visa and is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The index compares the visa-free access of passports from 199 countries to 227 tourist destinations. If a visa is not required or a visa on arrival, visitor permit, or electronic travel authorization (ETA) can be obtained upon entry to the destination, the passport is given a score of "1". If a visa is required or if the passport holder must obtain a government-approved electronic visa (e-Visa) before departure, a score of "0" is assigned. The total score for each passport is equal to the number of destinations that do not require a visa.
For the study, visa-free or visa-on-arrival scores for 163 countries are compared based on the Henley & Partners Passport Index and the Institute for Economics and Peace's Global Peace Index for 2024. This index assesses three factors: public security, ongoing conflict (domestic and international), and degree of militarization.