passaporto italiano piu potente del mondo

Why the Italian passport is among the most powerful in the world and what are the others: the 2024 ranking

The passport it is an essential travel document to be able to access other countries, which is used not only to request permission from the government to enter another state but also to have legal protection abroad. The possibility of accessing a State more or less easily depending on one’s nationality makes what should be a universally recognized right, such as freedom of movementinto something that is or is not granted, often turning into a privilege. The “power” or “strength” of a passport is measured by number of countries which can be accessed without necessity to request a preventive visa. According to the latest Passport Power Index survey from July 2024, the first country in the ranking is Singapore with 195 countries that can be visitedfollowed byItaly, with 192.

Why the Italian passport is so powerful

THE‘Italy is al second place in the ranking of the most “powerful” passports in the world in 2024: those who have an Italian passport, in fact, can access 192 out of 227 countries. Last January, our country was first in the world by power of your passport. “Power” depends on numerous factors such as economic stabilitythe political situation, the importance ed geopolitical influence of the country in question, the most developed sectors of the country such as tourism, culturethe opening to international exchanges and the degree of progress in the field of civil and social rights. Other requirements taken into account for the calculation are innovation and productivity and the job opportunities given to its citizens. Italy’s second place is shared by our country with France, Germany, Spain and Japan. The index is calculated with data provided by International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the world’s largest and most accurate travel database.

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Passport issued in 1914 for Austria valid for three years. Credits: Wikimedia commons

How is passport ranking calculated?

The Global Passport Ranking was calculated by assigning 1 point for each destination that citizens of a particular nation can visit without needing to obtain a preventive visathat is, if you can have a visa on arrival, an electronic travel authority (ETA) or a visit permit. If, however, a prior visa is needed, i.e. to be requested before departure with approval from the government of the country to be visited, no points are assigned, therefore the score is 0. They are compared 199 passports and 227 destinations.

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Map of the most or least powerful passports in the world. The most powerful ones are in blue. Credits: Henley Global passport ranking

The ranking of the most powerful passports in the world

The last ranking drawn up dates back to July 2024: Singaporeand holds the top spot as the strongest passport in the world with 195 countries you can visit. In second place we find Italy, together with France, Germany, Spain and Japan, while al third place they are classified Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea and Swedenwith 191 countries that can be visited.
Al fourth place we meet the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland, while the United States is in eighth place.

The least powerful passports

Looking at the bottom of the ranking and therefore the countries that have the weaker passport and who therefore have visa-free access to a few states, the last positions are almost completely occupied by Middle Eastern or African countriesprobably due to the more unstable political and economic conditions and the state of development of the local economy. THE’last place is occupied by Afghanistan, with 26 countries that can be visited, of which mainly small states in Oceania and Sub-Saharan Africa. To precede him Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Nepal, Palestine.

Despite the fact that the destinations that can be visited without a visa are increasing more and more and with them also the freedom of travel internationally, the freedom of movement gap and mobility between the strongest and weakest passports is bigger and bigger, with a maximum difference of 169 destinations between Singapore and Afghanistan. This is undoubtedly a fact that pushes us to reflect on degree of inequality present globally.