It says that increasing travel barriers that have been introduced over the course of the Covid pandemic have resulted in the widest global mobility gap in the index’s 16-year history.

The index doesn’t take temporary restrictions into account, so leaving actual current travel access aside, holders of the passports at the top of its ranking — Japan and Singapore — are able, in theory, to travel visa-free to 192 destinations.

That’s 166 more destinations than Afghan nationals, who sit at the bottom of the index of 199 passports, and can access just 26 countries without requiring a visa in advance.

You can find more info World’s Most Powerful passports in 2022

Europe dominates

Further down the top 10, the rankings remains virtually unchanged as we enter the first quarter of 2022. South Korea is tied with Germany in second place (with a score of 190) and Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain are all together in third place (with a score of 189).

EU countries dominate the top of the list as usual, with France, Netherlands and Sweden climbing one spot to join Austria and Denmark in fourth place (with a score of 188). Ireland and Portugal are in fifth place (with a score of 187).

The United States and the United Kingdom, which held the top spot together back in 2014, have regained a little ground.

They’ve risen one ranking to No.6, alongside four other nations with a history of isolationism or neutrality: Switzerland, Norway, Belgium and New Zealand.

At No.7 we have Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Greece and Malta. Eastern European countries make up the rest of the top 10.

Hungary and Poland have risen to eighth place, Lithuania and Slovakia have climbed to No. 9, and Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia are in tenth position.

The best passports to hold in 2022 are:

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)

The worst passports to hold

Several countries around the world have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to fewer than 40 countries. These include:

104. North Korea (39 destinations)

105. Nepal and Palestinian territories (37)

106. Somalia (34)

107. Yemen (33)

108. Pakistan (31)

109. Syria (29)

110. Iraq (28)

111. Afghanistan (26)