(Daily Point) — The Pakistani passport maintains its position as the fourth least powerful globally in the new year, showing no improvement over the past five years, as reported by The News on Thursday.
According to data from the UK-based citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley and Partners, which ranks 199 nations on its index, the passport’s ranking has declined since July of the previous year. The Henley Passport Index places Pakistan’s passport at 101st out of 104, with a score of 34, as revealed in the firm’s Global Mobility Report 2024. This signifies that holders of an ordinary Pakistani passport can access only 34 out of the 227 destinations included in the index without a visa.
The ranking is based on the number of countries and territories passport holders can access without a prior visa, using data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In contrast, the top-ranking passports, held by France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Singapore, have a score of 194, sharing the first position on the index.
In comparison, Afghanistan maintains the world’s least powerful passport, granting visa-free entry to only 28 destinations. Syria and Iraq follow as the second- and third-worst countries, allowing access to 29 and 31 destinations, respectively.
While other South Asian countries perform relatively better than Pakistan, their overall rankings are still low. Bangladesh is ranked 97th with visa-free access to 42 destinations, Sri Lanka stands at 96th with a score of 45, and Nepal secures the 98th spot with a score of 40. India performs relatively better in the South Asian region, holding the 80th spot with a score of 62.
The Pakistani passport provides visa-free access to a limited number of destinations, including 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.
Henley and Partners Chairperson Dr. Christian H Kaelin noted in a statement that, despite a historical trend toward greater travel freedom, the global mobility gap between top and bottom-ranking countries is wider than ever. He highlighted that the average number of destinations travelers can access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.
Experts also point to the increasing use of technology in travel-related tasks, with IATA Senior Vice President Commercial Products and Services Frederic Leger emphasizing the need for the automation and enhancement of airport processes to accommodate the anticipated doubling of passenger traffic by 2040. Leger notes that passengers are willing to share their data in advance to achieve this goal.
