BD slips five notches in Global Passport Power Index

Bangladesh has ranked 100th in the Global Passport Power Rank 2018, slipping five notches from its previous ranking.

In 2017, Bangladesh ranked 95th with visa-free access to 38 countries, according to the rankings released on Tuesday by Henley & Partners, a US-based citizenship and planning firm.

Bangladesh is placed at 100th position jointly with Lebanon, Iran and Kosovo in the global ranking for 2018, all having visa-free access to 41 countries, according to the index.

Japan has the most powerful passports, according to the ranking, with visa-free access to 190 countries in the world.

Singapore, which had the 4th most powerful passport in 2017, has moved up to second in the ranking for 2018 with access to 189 countries, according to the index, reports UNB.

Passports of France, Germany, and South Korea, all of which have access to 188 countries, have been placed third in the 2018 ranking.

The statistics of the Henley Passport Index are based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world's largest and most accurate database of travel information, and is enhanced by extensive in-house research.

The countries tied for the top five places are: Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, South Korea, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Iraq and Afghanistan remained at the low end of the spectrum, providing visa-free access to 30 countries each, with Syria and Somalia just ahead with 32 visa-free destinations.

Among Bangladesh's neighbours, India and Pakistan placed 81st and 104th while Myanmar on the 93rd spot with Nepal 101st and Bhutan 86th position, the report revealed.

The 2018 Henley Passport Index is a ranking of all the passports of the world according to the number of countries their holders can travel to visa-free. The index is updated in real-time, as and when visa-policy changes come into effect.