Those lucky enough to be in possession of an Irish passport can enjoy many benefits that it brings as it is named the fifth most useable passport in the world.
Experts have ranked the Irish passport the fifth most useable in the world, according to an authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports.
Researchers have scores depending on how many countries passport holders could enter without a prior visa.
Tying with Portugal, the Irish passport received a score of 187. Thus, making it one of the most powerful passports in the world.
The official ranking – exclusive data from the IATA
Henley and Partners released their Passport Index revealing the Irish passport to be the fifth most useable in the world.
The ranking was based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The IATA is the world’s largest and most accurate travel information database.
Ranking 199 different passports and covering 227 different travel destinations, the quarterly index provides up-to-date information about the most powerful passports in the world.
The most powerful passports in the world – ease of travel for global citizens
Japan tied with Singapore, topping the list with 192 points, making these the most useable passports in the world.
Coming in second is Germany and South Korea, each with 190 points. Spain, Luxembourg, Italy, and Finland tied in third place, with 189 points. Meanwhile, Austria, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden ranked fourth, with 188 points.
Ireland gained 187 points, making it the fifth most useable in the world, alongside Portugal.
On the flipside, Afghanistan scored only 26 points making the least useable passport in the world. Just above Afghanistan is Iraq with 28 points and Syria with 29.
How the rankings were decided – coming up with the total scores
To work out which passports hold the most power, researchers at Henley and Partners looked at how many countries passport holders could enter without a prior visa.
Researchers gave passports one point for each country that allows entry without said visa. They also gave a single point for passports that could receive a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority upon arrival at their destination.
By these numbers, the Irish passport allows travellers to enter 187 countries with no visa or by obtaining a visa upon arrival at their destination. Therefore making the Irish passport the fifth most useable in the world.
The index makes several assumptions about passport holders. These include the passport’s validity and that it is not a diplomatic, emergency, or temporary passport.
The index also assumes that the passport holder is an adult citizen of the issuing country travelling as an individual. Other assumptions include the passport holder meeting the requirements of entry to their destination and the duration of travel is a short stay.
