About

The Passport Index is the original interactive passport ranking tool in the world.

Invented and empowered by Arton Capital, it is the only real-time global ranking of the world’s passports, updated as frequently as new visa waivers and changes are implemented.

Since its inception, Passport Index has become the leading global mobility intelligence platform, celebrated across the world.

Visitors can dive in the fascinating world of passports, explore their designs, sort them by country, region and even by color. For the first time ever, visitors can compare passports side by side and even explore how they can improve their Personal Mobility Score by adding additional passports.

More recently, Passport Index has launched a mobile application available on iOS, bringing the world of passports to your fingertips.

The Passport Index also features PASSE/PORT, the comprehensive blog curating passport-related news, and views on global mobility, security, technology, branding, and visa policies from around the world.

Methodology

The Passport Index methodology is based on the following:

• Passports of 193 United Nations member countries and 6 territories (ROC Taiwan, Macao (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican) for a total of 199 are considered.
• Territories annexed to other countries such as Norfolk Island (Australia), French Polynesia (France), British Virgin Islands (Britain), etc. who do not issue their own passports are excluded and not considered as destinations.
• Countries which issue passports, regardless if they enforce independent visa policies or not are considered as destinations.
• Data is based on official information provided by governments, updated in real-time with intelligence obtained through crowdsourcing and enhanced with proprietary research from highly credible sources.
• Significant number of passport images are provided by proud citizens of their countries. While some chose to remain anonymous, most have been credited for their contribution.
• To determine the individual rank of each passport, a three-tier method is applied:
1. Mobility Score (MS) – includes visa-free (VF), visa on arrival (VOA), eTA and eVisa (if issued within 3 days)
2. VF portion of their score vs VOA
3. United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index 2018 (UNDP HDI) is used as a tie breaker. The UNDP HDI is a significant measure on the country’s perception abroad.

How to use the Passport Index

EXPLORE:

By Country

Explore the interactive mosaic, find your country's passport, or simply discover others.

By Region

Display passports for specific continents, regions, or other geopolitical filters.

By Location

The world map represented by the color of the country’s passport cover.

By Color

Sort passports by the color of their cover.

COMPARE:

By Passport

Compare the world’s passports next to each other, learn about their visa policies and discover your Personal Mobility Score.

By Destination

Compare how welcoming different countries are.

RANK:

Global Passport Power Rank

Passports of the world are sorted by their total Mobility Score, which includes visa-free and visa on arrival privileges. The higher the MS score, the better global mobility its passport bearer enjoys.

Individual Passport Power Rank

No two passports are alike, hence why share a rank? The 2016 edition of the Passport Index introduced a unique ranking system, where each passport occupies an individual rank, based on their individual country and visa characteristics.

Filtered Rank

It has never been easier to rank passports based on their individual characteristics within a context of your interest. You can now filter by continent, region, industry and many more.

Global Country Welcoming Rank

Some passports command respect and visa-free access to many parts of the world. But how welcoming are they? Passport Index’ Country Welcoming Rank showcases the most and least welcoming countries in the world, ranked solely on the the number of countries they accept visa-free or with visa on arrival.

IMPROVE:

Boost your Personal Mobility Score

Discover which additional passport(s) can improve your Personal Mobility Score. The higher the personal mobility score, the more countries you can visit visa-free, or with visa on arrival.

Terminology

Mobility Score (MS)

Passports accumulate points for each country that their holders can visit without a visa, or they can obtain a visa on arrival.

Visa-Free (VF)

Permission from a foreign authority to enter a country is not required.

Visa on arrival (VOA)

Permission from a foreign authority to enter a country is required but can be obtained on arrival.

Visa required (VR)

Permission from a foreign authority to enter a country is required prior to travel.

Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)

Requirement for foreign nationals travelling to a country where permission to enter is not required. It is a relatively new approach, widely used by the USA and Canada.

Passport Power Rank (PPR)

Passports are ranked based on their Mobility Score. The higher the Mobility Score, the better the Passport Power Rank.

Welcoming Countries Score (WCS)

Countries are ranked by the number of passports they accept visa-free or with visa on arrival.

Personal Mobility Score (PMS)

A measure for people’s current or potential number of countries they can visit visa-free with up to 4 passports.

World Openness Score (WOS)

A measure of the global ease of travel by taking into account all visa waivers in the world. The higher the number, the more open the world is becoming.

COVID-19 Ban

Temporary status reflecting border closure or significant restrictions for entering the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contribute

Help us improve this tool and have a chance to represent your country by sending us a high quality passport cover photo to [email protected]. Your name will be fully credited, unless you wish to remain anonymous. Your privacy is guaranteed.

Our aim is to build the most comprehensive photo library of passport covers in the world. Can you help us? We will be happy to integrate any passport cover photo, which is of better quality than the current version displayed. Photos or scans should be of high resolution, well lit and as close as possible to the original. By sending us the photo, you give us full rights for usage as we see fit.

Translations

Translations are generously submitted by third party contributors including Carl Brunowsky (German, Spanish, Portuguese), Lubov Parker (Russian), Houwen Spencer Cen (Chinese) and are provided for reference purposes only.

While reasonable efforts are made to provide accurate translations, portions may be incorrect and may not work as expected due to language restrictions. The English version shall prevail and be paramount in the event of any differences. No liability is assumed for any errors, omissions, or ambiguities in the translations provided.

Do you want to see Passport Index in your own language? Great! Help us translate and we’ll be happy to add your language. Get in touch with us.

If you would like to report an error or simply suggest a better translation, we encourage you to please contact us. Contributions are highly appreciated.

Legal notes

Passport Index is a free tool, built with publicly available information and with content contributed by fans and government agencies around the world. Analytics is based on proprietary research. Certain assumptions have been taken where data was missing or not reliable.

Although our data is reliable and up-to-date, please confirm visa policies with an embassy before your travel.

Passport designs are copyright of each respective government.

Media Enquiries

For press and media enquiries, please contact us at [email protected].