Advertisement

Norway has fourth 'most powerful' passport in the world

The Local Norway
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Norway has fourth 'most powerful' passport in the world
Photo: Jon Olav Nesvold / NTB scanpix

Norway has the fourth most powerful passport in the world, according to a new index which ranks the level of visa-free access passports provide to their holders.

Advertisement

Global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners produces the Henley Passport Index each year using data from the International Air Transport Association.

The 2018 edition ranked Norway's passport as the fourth best in the world as it provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 186 countries.

As such, Norway keeps the same ranking as on 2017’s list, even though the number of countries accessed visa-free or by visa-on-arrival with the Norwegian passport increased from 173 last year.

Norway shared fourth place with the UK, the US, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal.

Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Denmark ranked marginally better in joint third place in terms of visa-free access.

Singapore and Germany were second (providing access to 188 countries), while Japan was first (189).

Schengen Area countries have traditionally topped the index due to providing open access to large parts of Europe, Henley & Partners noted, but Asian countries are catching up thanks to strengthened international trade and diplomatic relations.

One European country that could see its position in the ranking weaken in the coming years is the UK, with Brexit potentially making trips abroad more complicated.

The Henley index surveys 199 different passports and the access they provide to 227 different destinations.

READ ALSO: Norway passport gets global stamp of approval

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also