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UK passports have dropped 10 places in global power rankings in the last year – here’s why

The VisaGuide Passport Index has judged the strength of our passport based on visa-free access, eVisas and global mobility

Amy Houghton
Written by
Amy Houghton
Contributing writer
UK passport on a blue background
Photograph: Shutterstock
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Passports are powerful little things. They are what stands between us and our ability to travel the globe – determining which countries we can enter, which ones we can’t and which ones require a bit of extra paperwork. 

At the beginning of the year, the UK passport was named the 28th most powerful in the world on the VisaGuide Passport Index. But 12 months later, it has plummeted 10 places down to 38th place. 

The power of the passports from 199 countries are judged by VisaGuide on a quarterly basis according to factors including visa-free access, eVisas, global mobility, where holders can travel passport free and where they are banned from entering. It also comes up with a unique Destination Significance Score score for each country based on stuff like their GDP, Power Index, Tourism Index and Human Development Index. 

RECOMMENDED: All the countries that UK passport holders can visit without a visa.

We might have dropped down the list, but our little books got an overall score of 87.07 out of 100 and that certainly isn’t to be sniffed at. According to VisaGuide, as of this month, UK passport holders can travel visa free to 154 countries, need an eVisa for 21 and a normal visa for 19 others. Our numbers haven’t actually changed much since the start of the year, but the passports around us on the ranking have increased in strength. 

VisaGuide isn’t the one and only passport ranking, though. The Henley Passport Index is another trusted quarterly ranking and in its most recent edition, UK passports occupied fourth place. It might seem like a huge difference between the two rankings, but on the Henley Index  there are actually 13 nations ranked above the UK that are tied in second or third. 

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, VisaGuide named the Singapore passport the most powerful in the world. You can read more about the nations that made the top 10 here. 

The strength of our passports is constantly changing. We’ll see you back here in three months to see whether UK passports fare any better. 

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