The most updated list for Passport Index had just been published, and it names the most powerful passports in stack ranks.
Now, the power of a passport is determined primarily by the number of countries it can access without the requirement of a visa.
Image source: thebaggagecheque.com
And is Malaysia’s passport powderful? Well, being ranked 8th in the world for 2016 would definitely indicate so! Clap, clap, clap!
Our Malaysian passport enables visa-free travel to a whopping 151 countries! These include flying to most European countries like Netherlands, Germany and the likes without needing to go through the hassle of applying for Visa!
Alongside Malaysia in 8th place is Malta, Iceland, and Australia.
Meanwhile, the most powerful passport is from Germany and Sweden, where both are ranked 1st with its accessibility into 158 countries visa-free. Meanwhile, Afghanistan has fallen last coming in at rank 94 with only 24 visa-free accesses.
Other Asian countries too have fair well — South Korea having topped charts at 3rd place with 156 visa-free travels, while Singapore at 4th rank with 155.
Here’s a top 10 list for our Asian countries:
Other Asian countries like Indonesia (ranked at 70) has visa-free access to 56 countries, while Vietnam and Cambodia (both ranked 75) passports have access to 51 countries equally.
A trend was also identified that passports of poorer, weaker and conflict-riddled countries tend to possess less power as oppose to their counterparts. Hence, unbeknownst to many, your passport actually does speak volumes of your origin.
So rest your hearts Malaysians, and travel more!
Below is the top 10 ranks of the Global Passport Power Rank 2016.
Rank 1
- Germany
- Sweden
Rank 2
- Finland
- France
- Switzerland
- Spain
- United Kingdom
Rank 3
- Denmark
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- South Korea
- Norway
Rank 4
- Singapore
- Luxembourg
- Austria
- Portugal
- United States of America
Rank 5
- Greece
- Ireland
- Japan
Rank 6
- Canada
- New Zeland
Rank 7
- Czech Republic
- Hungary
Rank 8
- Malta
- MALAYSIA
- Iceland
- Australia
Rank 9
- Poland
Rank 10
- Slovenia
- Slovakia