India now ranks at 83rd position in the Henley Passport Index, climbing seven places from 90th rank last year.

Henley Passport Index

• The Henley & Partners publishes the ranking and the Index of the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
• It was launched in 2005.
• The ranking is based on data from the IATA (International Air Transport Association), a trade association of some 290 airlines, including all major carriers.
• The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.
• The data are updated in real time as and when visa policy changes come into effect.

India’s performance this year

• India is ranked at 83rd position and shares the rank with Sao Tome and Principe in Central Africa, behind Rwanda and Uganda.
• It now has visa-free access to 60 destinations worldwide with Oman and Armenia being the latest additions.
• It has added 35 more destinations since 2006.

Global performance

• Japan and Singapore has topped the list.
• The US and the UK passports regained some of their previous strength after falling all the way to eighth place in 2020.
• The passport of the Maldives is the most powerful in South Asia (58^th) enabling visa-free entry to 88 countries.
• In South Asia, Bangladesh (103^rd) is ahead of Pakistan (108^th) and Nepal (105^th).
• Afghanistan undoubtedly stands at the last rank.

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