Central Idea

India has seen an improvement in its ranking on the Henley Passport Index 2023, climbing seven places to the 80th position from 87 last year.
However, despite the rise in ranking, the number of countries allowing visa-free access to Indian passport holders remains the same.

What is Henley Passport Index?

The Henley Passport Index is a global ranking system that measures the strength and value of passports from different countries.
It is published by Henley & Partners, a global residence and citizenship advisory firm.
The index provides an annual ranking of passports based on the number of countries and territories their holders can travel to without requiring a visa or with visa-on-arrival access.

It takes into account data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and other reliable sources.
The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.
It assigns a “visa-free score” to each passport, which represents the number of destinations that can be visited without obtaining a visa in advance.
The higher the visa-free score, the stronger the passport.

India is ranked 80th in 2023.
In 2014, India ranked 76th with 52 countries granting visa-free access to Indian passport holders.
Since then, its ranking has fluctuated, with positions of 88th (2015), 85th (2016), 87th (2017), 81st (2018), 82nd (2019 and 2020), and 81st (2021).
In the Henley Openness Index, which measures the number of nations allowing visa-free access, India ranked 94th out of 97 countries for permitting visa-free access to only four nations.

Singapore Takes the Lead: Singapore has replaced Japan as the country with the most powerful passport, allowing its citizens visa-free access to 192 out of 227 travel destinations globally.
Other Top Countries: Germany, Italy, and Spain share the second position. The third position is shared by Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden.
Japan’s Position: Japan, previously holding the top position for five years, dropped to third place on the Henley Passport Index.
Pakistan: The country known for terrorism and the recent economic crisis has been ranked at 100 in the list. Citizens of Pakistan can travel to just 33 countries without applying for a visa.