Most Powerful Passport 2024: The strength of the Indian passport had declined just a month ago, but the ranking has improved in the latest index…
Most Powerful Passport 2024: After the setback a month ago, the strength of the Indian passport has increased again. There has been an improvement in India’s ranking on the Henley Passport Index, which measures the strength of passports of countries around the world. Now Indian passport has been placed at 82nd position on this index.
Indian passport gains 3 places
The Henley Passport Index is updated on a monthly basis. Earlier in February 2024, the Indian passport had suffered a setback, when its ranking had fallen to 85th place. India has gained 3 places in the latest edition of the index released for the month of March. Now the Indian passport has risen to 82nd position from 85th position a month ago.
Calculation is done on this basis
The strength of passports of different countries of the world is calculated on the basis of how many countries provide visa-free entry to it. The Henley Passport Index is continuously updated based on this scale. Despite improving India’s position on the Henley Passport Index 2024, it is still lower than in January. India was ranked 80th on the index before falling to 85th position in the February ranking.
Visa-free access to 62 countries
Indian passport had great benefits last year. During the last year, some new names were added to the list of countries giving visa-free entry access to Indian passports. Sri Lanka, Thailand and Kenya included India among the countries with visa-free access last year. Currently, Indian passport holders can get visa-free access to 62 countries of the world. Those countries include Bhutan, British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius and Indonesia etc.
This is how India’s importance has increased
India is emerging as a major economic power, which is also benefiting the Indian passport. The strength of the Indian passport has continuously improved over the years. The Indian passport was ranked 87th on the Henley Passport Index in the year 2022. In the year 2023, Indian passport had reached 80th position. Now Indian passport is at 82nd position. However, there is no change in the number of countries giving visa-free access to Indian passport as compared to last year. That is, the reason for the decline in ranking of Indian passport is not actually due to decrease in strength, but due to increase in strength of passports of some other countries.
The maximum strength of these passports
According to Henley Passport Index, six countries jointly hold the first place in terms of most powerful passports. Currently, the names of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain jointly come in the first place. Passport holders of these countries can visit 194 countries without visa. Finland, Netherlands, Sweden and South Korea are at second place with visa-free access to 193 countries, while Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Britain and Luxembourg are at third place with visa-free access to 192 countries.
List of 62 countries that Indians visit without a Visa
Here is a significant listing of countries that Indian passport holders can visit without a visa. This broadening of visa-free access complements opportunities for Indian tourists to interact in cultural trade and discover a large number of global locations.
- Angola
- Barbados
- Cape Verde Islands
- Comoro Islands
- Gabon
- Grenada
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Jamaica
- Cook Islands
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- British Virgin Islands
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- El Salvador
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Laos
- Macao (SAR China)
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Montserrat
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Niue
- Oman
- Palau Islands
- Qatar
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- Sri Lanka
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
- Zimbabwe