North Korean Passport Ranks Higher Than Lebanese Passport

Based on Henley & Partners’ 2016 visa restriction index, the Lebanese passport came out as one of the least powerful passports. The study ranks nations based on the number of countries their citizens can travel to visa-free. Germany, Sweden and the United States of America came out in first, second and third place, respectively. Germany has the most powerful passport in the world since its citizens can travel to 176 countries without the need of a visa. Syria, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan are at the very bottom of the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index since each only have visa-free access to less than 30 countries. Peru was the highest individual mover, gaining 15 places. Ghana showed the most negative movement, losing four places in one year. The countries that rank the highest are shown in blue, while those at the bottom are shown in yellow:

Dr. Christian H. Kälin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, said:

“There is still a huge disparity in the levels of travel freedom between countries, despite the world becoming seemingly more mobile and interdependent. Generally, visa requirements are a reflection of a country’s relationship with others, and take into account diplomatic relationships between countries, reciprocal visa arrangements, security risks, and the dangers of visa and immigration regulation violations”

Lebanon

As such, Lebanon shared the 96th position (out of the 104) with Ethiopia and South Sudan. North Korea shared the 94th spot with Djibouti. Only 11 countries did worse than us:

Nepal, Palestine and Sudan shared the 97th spot, Eritrea and Yemen at 98th, Libya (99th), Somalia (100th), Syria (101st), Pakistan (102nd), Iraq (103rd) and Afghanistan (104th).

I hope this is a humbling experience for us and a reminder why we need to vote in better representatives who can develop better diplomatic relations with other countries.

Full List

 1 – Germany

2 – Sweden

3 – Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain, United States

4 – Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, United Kingdom

5 – Ireland, Japan, New Zealand

6 – Canada, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland

7 – Australia, South Korea

8 – Iceland

9 – Czech Republic

10 – Hungary, Malta

11 – Lithuania

12 – Latvia, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia

13 – Estonia, Malaysia

14 – Poland

15 – Monaco

16 – Cyprus

17 – Chile

18 – Brazil

19 – Andorra, San Marino

20 – Argentina, Bulgaria

21 – Croatia, Romania

22 – Hong Kong

23 – Brunei Darussalam

24 – Israel

25 – Barbados

26 – Mexico

27 – Bahamas

28 – Uruguay

29 – Seychelles

30 – Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis

31 – Costa Rica, Taiwan, Vatican City

32 – Trinidad and Tobago

33 – Mauritius

34 – Venezuela

35 – Paraguay

36 – Macao, Panama, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

37 – Grenada

38 – Honduras, United Arab Emirates

39 – El Salvador

40 – Dominica, Guatemala

41 – Peru

42 – Solomon Islands

43 – Serbia

44 – Samoa

45 – Vanuatu

46 – Marshall Islands, Nicaragua

47 – Tonga

48 – Macedonia, Tuvalu

49 – Kiribati

50 – Colombia, Montenegro

51 – Micronesia, Russian Federation

52 – Palau, Turkey

 53 – Bosnia-Herzegovina

54 – Moldova

55 – Albania, South Africa

56 – Belize

57 – Ecuador, Timor-Leste

58 – Ukraine

59 – Guyana

60 – Kuwait, Maldives, Nauru

61 – Fiji

62 – Jamaica, Qatar

63 – Papua New Guinea

64 – Bolivia

65 – Botswana, Suriname

66 – Bahrain

67 – Kazakhstan, Namibia, Thailand

68 – Georgia, Kenya, Oman

69 – Saudi Arabia

70 – Belarus, Lesotho, Malawi

71 – Gambia, Swaziland

72 – Tanzania,

73 – Cape Verde, Tunisia, Zambia

74 – Azerbaijan

75 – Philippines, Uganda

76 – Cuba, Ghana

77 – Zimbabwe

78 – Armenia, Benin, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco

79 – Indonesia

80 – Burkina Faso, Dominican Republic, Mongolia

81 – Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone

82 – Mauritania

83 – Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tajikistan, Togo, Uzbekistan

84 – Niger

85 – Bhutan, Chad, China, Mali, Rwanda

86 – Gabon, Haiti, Madagascar

87 – Guinea-Bissau, India, Turkmenistan, Algeria, Cambodia, Comoros, Egypt, Guinea, Laos

89 – Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea

90 – Angola, Cameroon, Vietnam

91 – Burundi, Nigeria

92 – Congo, Jordan, Liberia

93 – Myanmar

94 – Djibouti, North Korea

95 – Bangladesh, Iran

95 – Sri Lanka

96 – Ethiopia, Lebanon, South Sudan

97 – Nepal, Palestinian Territory, Sudan

98 – Eritrea, Yemen

99 – Libya

100 – Somalia

101 – Syria

102 – Pakistan

103 – Iraq

104 – Afghanistan

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