eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
Zimbabwe has climbed three places on Henley Passport Index 2024 to 76th rank from 79 last year though the number of countries allowed visa-free access to Zimbabwean passport holders remain unchanged.
The Henley Passport Index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations.
The Henley Passport Index, the leading and definitive ranking of global passports based on visa-free access, relies on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is further enriched by research from Henley & Partners’ team.
Four EU member states — France, Germany, Italy and Spain — join Japan and Singapore in boasting the most powerful passports in the world, with their citizens able to visit an astonishing 194 destinations out of 227 around the globe visa-free.
Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, says although the general trend over the history of the 19-year-old ranking has been towards greater travel freedom, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now wider than ever.
“The average number of destinations travelers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024,” he said.
“However, as we enter the new year, the top-ranked countries are now able to travel to a staggering 166 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan, which sits at the bottom of the ranking with access to just 28 countries without a visa.”
Asian tiger, South Korea, joins Finland and Sweden in second place with visa-free travel to 193 destinations, and another four EU nations — Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and Netherlands — share 3rd place with access to 192.
