Vietnam drops 5 places in passport power ranking

The Vietnamese passport now ranks 87th on the Henley Passport Index, which features the world’s most powerful passports, down five places compared to the last ranking in July 2023.

The Henley Passport Index 2024 Global Ranking, announced on Wednesday by Henley & Partners, a global leader in residence and citizenship by investment, indicates that people holding a Vietnamese passport enjoy visa-free access to 55 countries and territories globally.

Vietnam’s visa-free destinations include the Cook Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Barbados, Haiti, Oman, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Dominica, Brunei, Cambodia, Singapore, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Chile, Ecuador, and Panama.

France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Spain, and Japan share first position as the most powerful passport in the world this year, as their citizens are able to visit 194 countries and territories without a visa, the highest figure since the Henley Passport Index announced its first ranking 19 years ago.

In contrast, the world’s weakest passports are those from poor countries mired in conflict, including Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Passport holders from these nations can only visit between 28 and 34 other countries without a visa.

The Henley Passport Index is the original and most authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, giving users the most extensive and reliable information about their global access and mobility.

It is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association - a large, accurate travel information database published annually since 2005. The Henley Passport Index Global Ranking is released twice at the beginning of the first and third quarters.