Singapore passport is the world's second most "powerful", according to the 2017 Passport Index put together by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital.
According to the updated index, Germany was placed at the first rank with a visa-free score of 157, which was closely followed by Singapore and Sweden, both ranked second with a visa-free score of 156. Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, the UK and the US were all jointly placed at the third position with a visa-free score of 155.
According to a press release from Arton Capital, Singapore overtook South Korea to become the highest-ranked Asian passport.
Arton Capital considered a total of 199 passports worldwide for the index. The list consisted of the 193 United Nations member countries and six territories - Taiwan, Macau (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican. The power of each country's passport was ranked based on three main factors. Firstly, the country's visa-free score, which includes visa-free and visa on arrival; then the visa-free portion of their score versus visa on arrival; and finally in case of a tie, the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index is used as a final comparing element.
As per the index the territories annexed to other countries, such as Norfolk Island, the French Polynesia and British Virgin Islands, were not considered as destinations for this ranking as they do not issue their own passports.
Last year in February, the 2016 Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index ranked Singapore at the fifth place, with unrestricted access to 173 countries out of 219 countries.Germany came up tops in Henley & Partners' 2016 index as well.
New Top 10 Passport Power Ranking:
- 157 - Germany
- 156 - Singapore, Sweden
- 155 - Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, UK, USA
- 154 - Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, Japan
- 153 - Malaysia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand
- 152 - Greece, South Korea, Australia
- 151 - Czech Republic, Iceland
- 150 - Hungary
- 149 - Malta, Poland
- 148 - Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia
