Pakistani passport listed world's fourth weakest

New Delhi, July 19

Pakistan has been ranked as having the fourth weakest passport in the world, according to Henley & Partners, a global citizenship and residence advisory company, media reports said.

Among 227 countries assessed on the index, the country stands at 100th position, which has been determined based on the number of destinations Pakistani residents can visit without needing a visa, Pakistani passport, Geo News

Earlier this year, the nation of over 220 million was listed among the five countries with the lowest-ranked passports by the London-based advisory firm, the report said.

According to the report, Pakistanis had access to 35 countries with an on-arrival visa facility until January this year, which has now come down to 33.

Meanwhile, Singapore leads the index as possessing the most-coveted passport in the world, pushing Japan -- leading the list for the last five years -- to third position shared with South Korea, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg and Sweden, granting their citizens access to 189 destinations without a prior visa.

Singaporeans, on the other hand, can visit at least 193 destinations visa-free around the world out of the total 227.

While Asia has conventionally dominated the rankings in the index, Europe is coming back, with Germany, Italy and Spain rising to the second spot, offering visa-free access to 190 destinations, Geo News reported.

Once leading the index, the US and the UK are witnessing their rankings plummet. However, Britain has shown improvement, moving up to the fourth place, while the US ranking has dropped to eighth with access to 183 visa-free destinations.