Behold world’s most powerful passport for 2023

For the fifth year running, the Japanese passport has been ranked the world’s most powerful passport for 2023.

The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Japanese citizens enjoy visa-free or visa-on-demand access to a record 193 destinations around the world, just ahead of Singapore and South Korea whose citizens can freely visit 192.

Below the Asian top three, a glut of European countries sit near the top of the leaderboard. Germany and Spain are tied on 190 destinations, followed by Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg on 189.

Then there’s Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, and Sweden all tied in fifth place, while France, Ireland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom are at No. 6.

New Zealand and the United States make an appearance at No. 7, alongside Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Afghan nationals sit at the bottom of the index once again and can access just 27 countries without requiring a visa in advance.

The Nigerian passport is in the weak league even though it recorded some improvement. It now grants visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 46 countries, up from the previous total of 35 in 2006, Nigerians cannot access over 181 travel destinations without a visa, visa-on-arrival or e-visa arrangement.

As of September 2022, travellers with Nigerian passports can only traverse 25 countries visa-free.

However, that number rises to at least 46 destinations when visa-on-arrival or e-visa programmes are added to the mix.

Countries offering visa-free, visa-on-arrival and e-visa access to Nigerians as of the time of this report include: Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Cabo Verde, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique , Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Others include: Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Timor-Leste, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Fiji, Micronesia, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The best passports to hold in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index:

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, Czech Republic (186 destinations)
8. Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta (185 destinations)
9. Hungary, Poland (184 destinations)
10. Lithuania, Slovakia (183 destinations)

The worst passports to hold in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index:

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)