The world’s most powerful passports for 2022 have been revealed. Ireland is ranked fifth on the list of most powerful passports in the world.
Henley and Partners released their Passport Index revealing the Irish passport to be the fifth most useable in the world.
The ranking was based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The IATA is the world’s largest and most accurate travel information database.
Researchers have scores depending on how many countries passport holders could enter without a prior visa.
Tying with Portugal, the Irish passport received a score of 187. This means passport holders from Ireland can travel to 187 countries as of 2022. Thus, making it one of the most powerful passports in the world.
Ranking 199 different passports and covering 227 different travel destinations, the quarterly index provides up-to-date information about the most powerful passports in the world.
Japan joined with Singapore, topping the list with 192 points, making these the most useable passports in the world.
Coming in second is Germany and South Korea, each with 190 points. EU countries dominate the top of the list as usual, Spain, Luxembourg, Italy, and Finland tied in third place, with 189 points. Meanwhile, Austria, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden ranked fourth, with 188 points.
When it comes to the worst passports to hold, Afghanistan remains the least powerful worldwide with access to just 26 countries. Iraq (28), Syria (29), Pakistan (31), and Yemen (33) round out the bottom five.
Top ten passports to hold in 2022
1. Japan, Singapore (192 destinations)
2. Germany, South Korea (190)
3. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain (189)
4. Austria, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Sweden (188)
5. Ireland, Portugal (187)
6. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States (186)
7. Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta (185)
8. Poland, Hungary (183)
9. Lithuania, Slovakia (182)
10. Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia (181)
Christian H. Kaelin, chair of Henley & Partners, said in a statement. “Passports and visas are among the most important instruments impacting on social inequality worldwide as they determine opportunities for global mobility,”
“The borders within which we happen to be born, and the documents we are entitled to hold, are no less arbitrary than our skin color. Wealthier states need to encourage positive inward migration in an effort to help redistribute and rebalance human and material resources worldwide.”