Germany Has World's Most Useful Passport

Red passport, blue passport, who gives a flying fudge?

It doesn't matter what colour your passport is, because it turns out the best passport to have in the world is a German passport.

It may surprise you to learn this (it shouldn't), but a passport from the western/central European country gives its users (Germans) access to a whoppalopping 177 countries worldwide.

Germany came top in 2018, ahead of Singapore, which had been top of the Global Passport Power Rank, a separate ranking authority.

While Germans may enter 177 countries, UK passport holders are limited to a paltry 175, though this marks an improvement for the United Kingdom on 2017.

On the Henley website, Dr. Christian H. Kälin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners wrote: "There is no denying that a global mobility divide exists...We are also seeing a growing tendency towards a more isolationist, immigration-hostile policy among traditional migrant-receiving countries such as the US, and 2018 will bring further uncertainty, with the UK still in the grip of ongoing Brexit negotiations.

"Nonetheless, only a small minority of countries on the Henley Passport Index lost visa-free access in 2018. By and large, countries either improved or maintained their access compared to 2017.

"These findings reflect the fact that, while certain countries are tightening their borders, most are in fact becoming more open, as they seek to tap into the immense economic value that tourism, international commerce and migration can bring."

Germany retained top spot for the fifth year in a row, in the Henley ranking, while eight countries, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, France, Norway, Japan and the UK shared third place, followed closely by Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, th Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain.

Ukraine and Georgia were the highest climbers in the last year thanks to visa liberalisation in the EU.

At the bottom of the list, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, each one of them having visa-free access to 30 or fewer countries around the world.

Countries which UK passport holders need a visa to enter include China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, among others.

Have a little fiddle around (not like that) on the Henley website to see where you can and can't go without a visa, it's fun. Turns out I need one for Suriname.

Well, I'll be damned.

Topics: World News, Passport, Germany, travel, brexit

Ronan O'Shea

Ronan J O'Shea is a freelance journalist from London who has written for titles including LADbible, Headspace, The Independent, National Geographic Traveller and New York Post. Contact him at [email protected].