These gentlemen in Herat will face a lot of bureaucracy in order should they wish to travel extensively.
You may or may not be surprised by which country the dubious honour of having the world’s worst – or weakest – passport belongs to.
Do note that the figures are for 2017. Brexit has yet to be implemented, which means that the UK still issues the 5th strongest passport in the world.
The country with the least attractive passport is unfortunately rarely associated with positive news, and chances are that you guessed Afghanistan. Followed by lands often mentioned in the same league; Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Somalia. The list is provided by The Global Passport Index, and media outlets usually focus on the best passports. The winner in 2017 was Singapore. Citizens from there can visit 159 countries without a visa.
Afghan passport holders can only visit 23 countries without a visa, that is one seventh of the fellow Asian country. The question is, who welcomes Afghanis with no questions asked? Typically island nations of Africa, Oceania and the Caribbean, such as Palau, Seychelles and Dominica. Plus the Maldives, of course. A lot of famous holiday destinations, in fact. The problem is only that you’ll need a fair amount of money to go on holiday, and you are unlikely to be in the mood or position to do so with poverty and fighting at home – even if you can afford it.
The world’s 11 worst passports:
1) Afghanistan – 23 visa free countries
2) Iraq and Pakistan – 26 visa free countries
4) Syria – 29 visa free countries
5) Somalia – 33 visa free countries
6) Bangladesh and Yemen – 35 visa free countries
8) Nepal, Iran, Sri Lanka and Sudan – 36 visa free countries
You’ll find the countries most nationalities can travel to in my piece about the world’s easiest 24 countries to visit.
Comments