The Pakistani passport has maintained its position as the fourth-worst passport globally in the new year, showing no improvement for at least the past five years.
According to data from Henley and Partners, a UK-based citizenship and residence advisory firm, Pakistan’s passport is ranked 101st out of 104 on the Henley Passport Index, with a score of 34.
This score indicates that holders of an ordinary Pakistani passport enjoy visa-free access to only 34 out of 227 destinations included in the index.
The index ranks 199 nations based on the number of countries and territories passport holders can access without a prior visa. The top spot for the world’s strongest passport in 2024 is shared by France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Singapore, with a score of 194. Afghanistan continues to hold the position for the world’s worst passport, with visa-free entry to only 28 destinations.
While other South Asian countries have performed relatively better than Pakistan, their overall rankings remain low. Bangladesh is ranked 97th, Sri Lanka 96th, and Nepal 98th. India stands at the 80th spot with a score of 62.
The Pakistani passport currently provides visa-free access to destinations such as Barbados, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde Islands, Comoro Islands, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Micronesia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Nepal, Niue, Palau Islands, Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Dr. Christian H Kaelin, Chairperson of Henley and Partners, noted that while the overall trend over the 19-year history of the ranking has been towards greater travel freedom, the global mobility gap between the top and bottom of the index is wider than ever.
The average number of destinations travelers can access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024. However, the top-ranked countries now have access to 166 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan, which sits at the bottom of the ranking with access to only 28 countries without a visa.
