Passport Index found Emiratis gain visa-free access to 90% of countries, with 172 in total
The United Arab Emirates has topped the annual Passport Index for the most powerful passport in the world, beating top ranking countries such as Germany, Finland, Luxembourg and Spain.
Two years ago, the UAE set a goal to be within the top five most powerful passports in the world by 2021. The Passport Index was set up to monitor the UAE’s progress.
At the time, in 2017, the emirates ranked number 24, with Emirati passports gaining visa-free access to 131 countries around the world. In 2018 it rose to 167 and to the top of the rankings.
In the last 12 months, the UAE has made efforts to improve its Mobility Score event further, signing agreements with the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, South Africa, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Sudan, Suriname and Uzbekistan.
The UAE’s passport now offers visa-free access to 179 countries, retaining it the number one spot on the rankings and giving Emirati travellers easy access to 90 percent of the world.
Behind it are Germany, Finland, Luxembourg and Spain on 172 countries and Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, japan, South Korea, Ireland and the USA on 171 countries.
“Getting first place was hard, but keeping it was going to be harder,” said Armand Arton, founder and president of Arton Capital, the company which manages the Passport Index rankings. “Not only did the UAE passport remain at the very top, but they even managed to significantly increase their lead,” he added.
The five worst passports on this year list were Afghanistan (35 countries), Iraq (37), Syria (40) and Somalia (41).
