The Most Powerful Passports in 2023, Britain the sixth worldwide and UAE the first in the Arab world

The “Hanley & Partners” index released the list of the most powerful passports in the year 2023. Forbes magazine described the results as shocking, describing the Gulf countries as “the clear winners.” The UAE ranked first in the Arab world and 15th worldwide, as Emirati citizens can now visit 178 destinations from 227 countries without a visa.

Qatar ranked second in the Arab world and 55th worldwide with 100 visa-free destinations, while Kuwait ranked 57th with 97 visa-free destinations. On the other hand, Bahrain ranked 63rd with 87 visa-free destinations, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in addition to the Sultanate of Oman ranked 65th with 82 destinations without a visa.

For the fifth consecutive year in Henley & Partners’ list, Japan ranked first, as Japanese citizens can now visit 193 destinations from 227 countries without a visa. Meanwhile, the South Korean and Singaporean passports came second with 192 destinations without a visa, followed by Germany and Spain in the third place, then Finland, Italy and Luxembourg in the fourth place, and Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden in the fifth place.

The American and British passports were among the strongest ones. However, they did not make it through the top five in the “Henley & Partners’ list”. Moreover, the difference between the strongest and weakest passports is the largest ever, as Britain ranked sixth with 187 destination, while the United States ranked the seventh with 186 destinations, according to the “Hanley” report.

The report also indicated that the European Union is in the process of signing a program for free travel for a period of 90 days with Kuwait and Qatar. Meanwhile, Forbes magazine confirmed that this would support the passports of those countries during the coming years.

The report also noted that the world has recovered 75% of international travel traffic, compared to periods before the Corona pandemic.