Bangladeshi passport improves 5 notches in global ranking

Bangladesh has been ranked 96th in the 2023 edition of the Henley Passport Index (HPI), improving five notches from the last index.

In the last index released in January this year, Bangladesh ranked 101st. Bangladesh was ranked 104th in 2022.

As per the latest ranking by Henley Passport Index released on Tuesday, Bangladeshi citizens are now able to get visa-free access to 40 destinations worldwide.

The new Henley Openness Index ranks all 199 countries and territories worldwide according to the number of nationalities they permit entry to without a prior visa.

As per the latest index, India has been ranked 80th improving five notches from its latest position 85th.

For the fifth year running, Japan has held the top spot in the index, which is based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). 

However, in the latest release, Japan has dropped to third place with the visa-free access to 189 countries, and Singapore is now the reigning champion thanks to its citizens' ability to travel to 193 of the world's 227 countries without a visa.

South Korea, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg and Sweden have also been ranked 3rd jointly in the index. 

United Kingdom, Denmark, Netherlands and Ireland secured the 4th position in the index with visa-free access to 188 countries while Norway, Belgium, Czech Republic, Malta, Portugal, Switzerland and New Zealand have been ranked 5th jointly in the index with visa-free access to 187 countries.

The United States, however, dropped to 8th places with its visa-free access to 184 countries from its latest position 7th. 

The bottom five ranking passports are Afghanistan at 103rd position, Iraq at 102nd, Syria at 101st, Pakistan at 100th and Yemen 99th.

With historical data spanning 18 years, the Henley Passport Index is the only one of its kind based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). 

The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations. Updated quarterly, the Henley Passport Index is considered the standard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum.