Bangladeshi passport 7th weakest globally, shares rank with Palestinian

The Bangladeshi passport is ranked as the seventh weakest globally, with holders able to travel to only 40 out of 227 destinations worldwide without a prior visa, according to the July 2024 edition of the Henley Passport Index.

The latest edition, released by Henley and Partners on Tuesday, placed Bangladesh at the 97th position among 103 spots, sharing the spot with the war-torn Palestinian Territory.

The January edition of the index this year ranked Bangladesh 97th out of 104 positions, sharing this spot with North Korea, which is virtually isolated from the rest of the world. In the latest edition, North Korea has moved up one position to 96th.

According to the index, among the 40 destinations that a Bangladeshi passport holder can travel to without prior visa, 14 are in Africa, 11 in the Caribbean, eight in Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), six in Asia, and one in South America.

With a Bangladeshi passport, it is not possible to visit any European country without a prior visa.

Meanwhile, Singapore has broken away from the peloton of six countries that shared the top spot on the Henley Passport Index, reclaiming its title as the world's most powerful passport in the latest ranking.

The city-state also sets a new record score, with its citizens now enjoying access to 195 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free.

France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain have all fallen to a joint second place, each offering visa-free access to 192 destinations.

In an unprecedented development, seven countries—Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden—now occupy 3rd place, each providing access to 191 destinations without requiring a prior visa.

The index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Maldivian passport remains most powerful in S Asia

The passport of the Maldives remained the most powerful in South Asia (ranked 52nd), enabling visa-free entry to 94 countries, followed by India (82nd), Bhutan (87th), and Sri Lanka (93rd).

Bangladesh is in the fifth position in South Asia, above Nepal (98th) and Pakistan (100th).

Afghanistan remained firmly entrenched as the world's weakest passport, losing access to yet another destination over the past six months, leaving its citizens with access to only 26 countries visa-free — the lowest score ever recorded in the history of the 19-year-old index.

Christian H Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, said, "The general trend over the past two decades has been towards greater travel freedom, with the global average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024."

"However, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now wider than it has ever been, with top-ranked Singapore able to access a record-breaking 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan," Christian added.

Meanwhile, the biggest faller over the last decade is Venezuela, which has plunged 17 places from 25th to 42nd on the index. 

Yemen has tumbled 15 places to sit at 100th on the ranking, while both Nigeria and Syria have fallen 13 places to 92nd and 102nd, respectively.

Bangladesh comes in as the 5th-biggest faller, dropping 11 places from 86th to 97th position over the past 10 years.