Singapore has the 'most powerful' passport in the world
The Singaporean passport has been declared the world's most powerful with a score of 159- the first time an Asian country has clinched the top spot. Germany (158), Sweden (157) and South Korea (157) followed. Financial advisory firm Arton Capital analyzed passports of 193 UN nations and six territories. Germany has been leading since two years. European passports tend to dominate in the top-10.
How is "power" of a passport decided?
To determine "power" or Passport Index, analysts examine how many countries a passport-holder can visit either visa-free or with visa-on-arrival: higher the number of such countries, higher the score. Singapore passport-holders have visa-free access to 173 countries; earlier, Paraguay eased visa requirements for them.
The top ten countries in the list
Denmark, Italy, Finland, France, Norway, Japan, Spain and UK (156) tied for fourth. Luxemburg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal and Austria (155) came fifth. Malaysia was another Asian country in the top-6, tying with Ireland, USA and Canada (154). Austria, New Zealand and Greece (153); Malta, Iceland and Czech Republic (152); and Hungary (150) followed. Slovenia, Poland, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania (149) came 10th.
Meanwhile, Trump's presidency is hitting US' passport index
As Singapore went up the rankings in passport strength, US' score took a hit after President Donald Trump came to power, Arton Capital said. Turkey and the Central African Republic revoked visa-free status to American passport holders amid diplomatic rows.
