How Powerful Is Your Passport?

HOW POWERFUL IS YOUR PASSPORT? We may live in a world defined by invisible meta-data and the Cloud, but the roughly 3x5 inch paper booklet known as the passport still carries a lot of weight. More than a simple grant of access into a country, pass- ports and the visas they contain are a reflection of geopolitics, the rela- tionship between two nations, and a country's stature relative to the rest of the world. They're also of immense value. Just ask any one of the developing world's citizens if they'd rather win the lottery or a U.S. passport, chances are they'd say the latter (though they'd be wrong in thinking the American passport is the most powerful of them all). Here's a look at the strength of the world's passports-ranked by the travel freedom a passport holder enjoys. Most Powerful Least Powerful A Special Kind of Privilege The Schengen Area is a collection of nations in Eu- rope where there is no systematic border controls between participating countries. Individuals who are citizens move freely without a passport in this zone. Belong- ing to the EU does not necessarily imply membership in the Schengen Area; the UK and Ireland have cho- one of the 22 EU member countries can sen to abstain. Passport holders of the following countries are granted visa-free access (or receive a visa upon arrival) to the number of countries noted. 173 Finland 59 Moldova 41 Equatorial 141 Bulgaria Chile 84 Solomon Islands Sweden Guinea United Kingdom 58 Philippines Bangladesh Burundi Romania 81 Samoa Tuvalu 172 Denmark Ethiopia North Korea 137 Bahamas 57 Cape Verde Germany Luxembourg U.S.A. Barbados 80 Maldives 56 Azerbaijan Kyrgyzstan Peru 40 Angola Djibouti 132 Mexico Tonga Uruguay 171 Belgium Italy 79 Vanuatu 55 Armenia Iran Myanmar 131 St. Kitts and Nevis Benin Netherlands Côte d'Ivoire 78 Fiji Guyana Kiribati 39 Congo Libya South Sudan Mauritania 170 Canada Senegal 130 Antigua and Barbuda France Nauru Ireland Chinese Taipei Vatican City 53 Burkina Faso Syria Japan Norway Portugal Spain 77 Jamaica Guinea Kuwait Indonesia 38 Kosovo Mali Lebanon Sri Lanka Sudan 129 Croatia Marshall Islands Niger Togo Ukraine 128 Venezuela 168 Austria 75 Papua New New Zealand 126 Seychelles Guinea 52 Dominican 37 Nepal Switzerland Republic India 124 Paraguay 74 Ecuador 36 Eritrea 167 Australia Uzbekistan Greece 123 Mauritius 73 Bolivia 32 Pakistan Singapore 51 Mongolia Somolia 122 Costa Rica 72 Palau Morocco 166 South Korea Suriname 31 Iraq 121 Panama United Arab 50 São Tomé and 165 Iceland Emirates Príncipe 28 Afghanistan 118 Macao 163 Malaysia 114 Guatemala 71 Qatar 49 Tajikistan Malta Honduras 70 Botswana 48 Bhutan Central African 159 Liechtenstein 113 El Salvador 69 Bahrain Republic Madagascar Mozambique 157 Hungary 109 Nicaragua 68 Gambia 155 Czech Republic 104 Serbia Kenya 47 Guinea-Bissau Nigeria Timor Leste Slovakia Lesotho Slovenia 103 Macedonia Namibia Thailand 153 Poland 100 Trinidad and Tobago 67 Malawi 46 Algeria 152 Estonia 66 Swaziland Cambodia Egypt Gabon Zambia Hong Kong Latvia 98 Montenegro 95 Russian Federation 65 Tanzania 45 Chad 151 Cyprus Lithuania 94 South Africa 64 Saudi Arabia Haiti St. Lucia Laos Turkey 63 Colombia Oman 149 San Marino Turkmenistan 92 St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sierra Leone Tunisia 148 Monaco 44 Vietnam 147 Andorra Uganda 43 Cameroon Argentina 91 Bosnia and China Herzegovina 61 Belarus Congo Cuba Jordan 146 Brazil Brunei 88 Albania Ghana Rwanda Grenada Kazakhstan 42 Comoros 60 Georgia Zimbabwe 144 Israel 87 Belize Yemen Dominica