Philippine passport improves to 74th spot in Henley Passport Index --- By GMA Integrated News

The Philippines jumped up four places higher in the latest Henley Passport Index, now ranking 74th most powerful passport in the world. Citing data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Henley Passport Index on the 3rd quarter of 2023 showed that the Philippines, along with Armenia and Cape Verde Islands, has visa-free access to 66 destinations.The Philippines was previously in 78th place with visa-free access to 67 countries, based on the Henley Passport Index in January 2023. The Singapore passport, meanwhile, is now the most powerful in the world, replacing Japan in the top spot for the first time in five years. Singaporean citizens are able to visit 192 out of 227 destinations around the world visa-free. Japan’s ranking dropped to 3rd spot, joining Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden that have access to 189 destinations without a prior visa. The United Kingdom improved two places higher after a six-year decline, now ranking 4th worldwide. Alongside the UK were Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The United States, on the other hand, is now on a decade-long decline, dropping two places to 8th spot with access to just 184 destinations visa-free, along with Lithuania. Both the UK and the US jointly held 1st place on the index nearly 10 years ago in 2014, but have been on a downward trajectory ever since. Afghanistan remains the weakest passport in the world with only access to 27 destinations visa-free. According to the website of Henley & Partners, each passport is scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free. A score of 1 is provided to a certain passport for each travel destination, if it requires no visa. — Giselle Ombay/RSJ, GMA Integrated News

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