Singapore’s passport is now the world’s most powerful. According to the latest Henley Passport Index, Singapore has surpassed Japan as the world’s most powerful passport, allowing visa-free entry to 192 global destinations.
According to the ranking published by London-based immigration consultancy Henley & Partners, Japan fell to third place after five years at the top as the number of destinations its passport can access without a visa decreased.
The United States, which topped the list nearly a decade ago, has dropped two spots to eighth place. Following a Brexit-induced slump, the United Kingdom jumped two places to fourth, a position it last held in 2017.
As Singapore’s passport is now the world’s most powerful, the country is attracting wealth, with a recent influx fueled by China’s crackdown on private enterprise and concerns about geopolitical tensions.
However, obtaining the right to use the city-state’s travel document is not easy. The 5.6 million-person nation granted citizenship to approximately 23,100 people last year, and authorities earlier this year ruled out doing so based on individuals’ net worth.
Henley’s ranking is based on International Air Transport Association data. The methodology differs from other passport indexes, such as one published by financial advisory Arton Capital last year, which ranked the UAE first.
Singapore officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia.
It is located about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor to the north.
The country’s territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by 25% since the country’s independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects.
