Islamabad: The Pakistani passport has retained its position from last year and ranked as the fourth-worst passport in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index for 2023.
Henley & Partners’ list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.
The index ranks 199 passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. It’s updated in real-time throughout the year, as and when visa policy changes come into effect.
According to the new quarterly report released by the London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm, Pakistani passport enjoys unrestricted access to only 32 countries in the world.
Out of the total 109 countries included in the list, Pakistan ranked at 106, followed only by the likes of Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Best passports to hold in 2023
1. Japan (193 destinations)
2. Singapore, South Korea (192 destinations)
3. Germany, Spain (190 destinations)
4. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg (189 destinations)
5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden (188 destinations)
6. France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom (187 destinations)
7. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States, and Czech Republic (186 destinations)
8. Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta (185 destinations)
9. Hungary, Poland (184 destinations)
10. Lithuania, Slovakia (183 destinations)
Worst passports to hold in 2023
Several countries around the world have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 40 or fewer countries. These include:
102. North Korea (40 destinations)
103. Nepal, Palestinian territory (38 destinations)
104. Somalia (35 destinations)
105. Yemen (34 destinations)
106. Pakistan (32 destinations)
107. Syria (30 destinations)
108. Iraq (29 destinations)
109. Afghanistan (27 destinations)
