India Ranks 80th in the World’s Most Powerful Passport List for 2024
Written by Sanjay Kumar
News Highlights
- India at 80th: Indian passport ranked 80th, offers visa-free travel to 62 countries in 2024.
- European Dominance: France, Germany, Italy, and Spain lead with visa-free access to 194 destinations.
- Global Disparity: Dr. Christian Kaelin highlights a growing gap, with top countries enjoying 166 more visa-free destinations than Afghanistan at the bottom.
In the recently released Henley Passport Index for 2024, India has been ranked 80th, allowing its citizens to travel to 62 countries without the need for a visa. The Indian passport shares this position with Uzbekistan, while its neighboring nation, Pakistan, holds the 101st spot on the list.
For the past five years, Singapore and Japan have held the top spot for the world’s most powerful passports. However, 2024 marks a shift in this trend, with four European countries—France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—joining Singapore and Japan in the first position. Citizens of these nations now enjoy visa-free access to 194 out of 227 destinations, three more than the previous year.
South Korea, Sweden, and Finland have climbed to joint second place with access to 193 locations. Meanwhile, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands share the third spot, allowing travel to 192 places, as reported by Bloomberg.
Over the past decade, the United Arab Emirates has experienced the fastest climb, reaching the 11th place and offering access to 183 destinations without a visa. China has also seen a significant increase, moving up two spots to land in 62nd place with visa-free access to 85 destinations—almost double compared to a decade ago.
Dr. Christian Kaelin, Chairman of immigration consultancy Henley & Partners, noted that while the overall trend has been towards greater travel freedom, the gap between the top and bottom of the list has widened. He stated, “The top-ranked countries are now able to travel to a staggering 166 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan, which sits at the bottom of the ranking with access to just 28 countries without a visa.”
List of Top 10 Most Powerful Passports in 2024:
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain (194 destinations)
Finland, South Korea, Sweden (193 destinations)
Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands (192 destinations)
Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom (193 destinations)
Greece, Malta, Switzerland (190 destinations)
Czech Republic, New Zealand, Poland (189 destinations)
Canada, Hungary, United States (188 destinations)
Estonia, Lithuania (187 destinations)
Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia (186 destinations)
Iceland (185 destinations)
As travelers look forward to the year ahead, these rankings highlight the varying degrees of travel freedom enjoyed by citizens around the world.
