South Korea's Passport Power Rises to Joint Second Place with Japan

Singapore Takes First Place... United States Falls to Tenth

The South Korean passport has ranked joint second in the global passport index, alongside Japan.

According to CNN on July 22 (local time), UK-based citizenship consultancy Henley & Partners announced that the South Korean passport allows visa-free entry to 190 countries, placing it in joint second place with Japan. Since ranking third in January 2020, South Korea has consistently maintained a top position in the quarterly rankings released by Henley & Partners.

The Henley Passport Index, based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), indicates the number of destinations?out of 199 countries?that passport holders can visit either visa-free or with a visa issued on arrival, effectively granting visa-free access.

Singapore ranked first, with its passport allowing visa-free entry to 193 out of 277 countries and territories worldwide. Earlier this year, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France shared the top spot with Singapore, but in the latest announcement, Singapore stands alone at the top.

Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Spain tied for third place. The United States, which held the top spot in 2014, has now fallen to joint 10th place along with Lithuania and others. In the previous quarter, the United States was ranked joint 9th.

Afghanistan ranked lowest at 99th place, with its passport granting visa-free entry to only 25 countries. Syria (27 countries) and Iraq (30 countries) also remained near the bottom. North Korea was ranked 93rd, with visa-free access to 40 countries.