Afghanistan was ranked as the country with the weakest passport in the world until the beginning of the third quarter of 2023. This is based on the latest Henley Passport Index released by Henley & Partners.
Passport holders from Afghanistan can only visit 27 countries visa-free. This places Afghanistan at the bottom, ranking 104th in the world.
Iraq ranks second with the weakest passport in the world, with visa-free access to 29 countries. Syria is ranked third with visa-free access to 30 countries.
Pakistan has visa-free access to 33 countries. It is followed by Yemen and Somalia, each with visa-free access to 35 countries.
The following is the ranking of countries that can be visited visa-free in Southeast Asia in the third quarter of 2023:
1. Afghanistan (104th globally): 27 countries
2. Iraq (103rd globally): 29 countries
3. Syria (102nd globally): 30 countries
4. Pakistan (101st globally): 33 countries
5. Yemen (100th globally): 35 countries
6. Somalia (100th globally): 35 countries
7. Palestine (99th globally): 38 countries
8. Nepal (99th globally): 38 countries
9. North Korea (98th globally): 39 countries
10. Bangladesh (97th globally): 40 countries
11. Sri Lanka (96th globally): 41 countries
12. Libya (96th globally): 41 countries
13. Kosovo (95th globally): 42 countries
Of the countries included, Singapore currently has the world's strongest passport. Passport holders from Singapore can visit 192 countries visa-free.
Meanwhile, the strength of the Indonesian passport ranks 70th in the world. Indonesian passport holders can visit 73 countries visa-free during the same period.
With visa-free access, passport holders do not need to process and pay for a visa before departure. Visas can be obtained on arrival or by using an electronic travel authorization (ETA).
The Henley Passport Index is compiled based on the number of destinations accessible without requiring a visa, using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
This index covers 199 different passports with 227 travel destinations. Furthermore, this index is updated every quarter.