St. John's 
Henley & Partners has released their 2023 Henley Passport Index which ranks the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
The index takes official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and “is enhanced by extensive, ongoing research by the Henley & Partners Research Department.”
Japan tops the list as a passport holder of the island nation and can now enter 193 destinations out of 227 countries around the world visa-free/visa-on-arrival. South Koreans and Singaporeans, whose countries are tied for 2nd place on the index, enjoy a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 192.
The 2023 Henley Passport Index puts Canada in the 8h most potent group along with Australia, Greece, and Malta with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 185.
Last year, Canada was in the 7th influential passport group with access to 185 countries. The slip in position is mainly due to Japan — which was tied with Singapore in 2022 — having gained visa-free access to one more country.
United States passport holders can visit 186 countries without a visa and is in the 7th most powerful passport group.
Henley & Partners says the Ukraine war is yet to have a significant impact on the Henley Passport Index scores of Russia and Ukraine, with both countries retaining roughly the same position “on paper” since the invasion began. Russia is currently ranked 49th with a score of 118, while Ukraine sits 13 places above, ranking 36th with a score of 144. However, due to airspace closures and sanctions, Russian citizens are effectively barred from travelling throughout most of the developed world, with the marked exceptions of Dubai and Istanbul, which have become focal points.
2023 Henley Passport Index
Most Powerful (visa-free score – 193)
- Japan
2nd Most Powerful (visa-free score – 192)
- Singapore
- South Korea
3rd Most Powerful (visa-free score – 190)
- Germany
- Spain
4th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 189)
- Finland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
5th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 188)
- Austria
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- Sweden
6th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 187)
- France
- Ireland
- Portugal
- United Kingdom
7th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 186)
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Switzerland
- United States
8th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 185)
- Australia
- Canada
- Greece
- Malta
9th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 184)
- Hungary
- Poland
10th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 183)
- Lithuania
- Slovakia
At the bottom of the list are Afghanistan (27 countries), Iraq (29), Syria (30), Pakistan (32) and Yemen (34).
Indian passport holders can access just 59 destinations worldwide, despite having the world’s fifth-largest economy and Chinese passport holders can travel to 80 countries visa free.
A detailed list of all the countries is given here.
