Pakistan passport among world’s poorest travel documents, ranked 101st globally
Pakistan’s passport has slid down a notch to 101st place in the 2016 Henley Passport Index – maintaining its position as the fourth weakest passport in the world. Pakistani citizens can access just 29 places visa-free or visa on arrival.
The 2018 Henley Passport Index, published on Tuesday, rated Pakistan at 101st out of 199 passports measured for worldwide travel freedom across 227 destinations.
The fall followed a reduction in the number of countries providing visa-free and visa-on-arrival access from 30 in May to 29 in July, causing Pakistan to slide one place from its prior rank of 100.
The index shows that Pakistani passport holders can travel to places like Barbados, Dominica, Haiti, Micronesia, Montserrat, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Gambia, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands without a visa.
Visa on arrival is offered in Cambodia, Maldives, Nepal, Madagascar, Mozambique, Palau, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste, while electronic travel authorisations can be obtained for Kenya, Seychelles and Sri Lanka.
The report said that Cape Verde, Mozambique and Qatar no longer offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival entrance to Pakistani passport holders, adding to the latest reduction in travel access.
The drop in travel mobility over the last few months saw Pakistan rank 98th in March with access to 31 locations, and 97th in February with 32 destinations.
Pakistan’s passport ranking is better than 2021, when the country was placed 113th in the world, yet it faced another setback. The country was placed 107th in 2021, 109th in 2022, and 100th in 2023 and 2024.
Pakistan is only ranked below Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria in the global passport index, whereas Yemen has moved one spot above Pakistan with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 30 destinations.
Singapore had the world’s most powerful passport at the top of the rankings, allowing entry to 192 places without a prior visa. Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates were tied for second position, with access to 188 destinations, while Sweden was third, with 187.
Passport holders can visit without a prior visa (visa-free, visa on arrival and electronic travel authorisation arrangements) and ranks the world’s passports relative to other countries.