Freedom (Passport) Rankings

You know how they rank Universities worldwide? Right, there are so many differing standards and criteria, from TIMES Higher Education (THE) to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), depending on which standards are more important to you, they are not created equal. However, there will always be some similarities. The top few Universities will still be at the top albeit at different positions.

Then, I realised that the rankings of passports (citizenships) have several different schools of thoughts as well. For instance, according to Passport Index (2017) (PI), which ranks passport according to the number of visa-free score, Germans hold the world’s most powerful passport in first place, then followed closely by Swedish and Singaporeans. On the other hand, Nomad Passport Index (2017) (NPI) named Sweden as having the most powerful passport. But Germany and Singapore are ranked 6th and 19th respectively.

On the differences, NPI explained that their index was designed to educate global citizens about the true value of the world’s citizenships. NPI also mentioned that, 

“most indexes compare only a passport holder’s ability to travel freely, we realized that citizens of different countries deal with far different requirements to pay tax, live freely, and avoid scrutiny when traveling.”

“This index is designed to show the true value of citizenship in each country from the perspective of a high-achieving citizen who wants the freedom to minimize his or her tax obligations, diversify his or her wealth, and travel freely without judgment.”

In short, the table shown below are the standards that NPI uses.

Here are the top 10 (most powerful) passports in the world – when compared side by side.