India has slipped six places in the world's most powerful passport index compiled by Henley & Partners to 90, while Japan tied with Singapore to take the number 1 spot with a visa-free score of 192.
India's visa-free score, meanwhile, stood at 58, which means Indian passport holders are allowed to travel to 58 countries visa-free.
The Henley Passport Index is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and enhanced by Henley & Partners’ research team.
The index comes at a time when countries are gradually beginning to ease international travel restrictions after over a year.
Germany and South Korea took the second spot, while Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Yemen are among the least powerful on the list.
The global mobility gap is at its widest point ever and continues to expand due to proliferating barriers to entry erected since the outbreak of the pandemic, says Henley's Q4 global mobility report.
"Many countries in the global south have relaxed their borders in a concerted effort to revive their economies but there has been very little reciprocity from countries in the global north, which have enforced some of the most stringent inbound Covid-19-related travel restrictions. Even fully vaccinated travelers from countries at the lower end of the Henley Passport Index remain locked out of most of the developed world."
Top 10 most powerful passports
1) Japan, Singapore (Visa-free score:192)
2) Germany, South Korea (Visa-free score: 190)
3) Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain (Visa-free score: 189)
4) Austria, Denmark (Visa-free score: 188)
5) France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden (Visa-free score: 187)
6) Belgium, New Zealand, Switzerland (Visa-free score: 186)
7) Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Norway, United Kingdom, United States (Visa-free score: 185)
8) Australia, Canada (Visa-free score: 184)
9) Hungary (Visa-free score: 183)
10) Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia (Visa-free score: 182)
