Bangladesh at 90th in list of most powerful passport

International Desk: The tiny nation of Singapore now has the most powerful passport in the world while Bangladesh is at 90th in the list.

According to the Passport Index, which tabulates the number of countries that holders of passports can enter either visa-free or by gaining a visa on arrival, holders of the Asian city-state’s travel documents can cross borders most smoothly. The No. 1 spot comes after a recent decision by Paraguay to remove visa requirements for those carrying Singapore’s passport, meaning 159 countries can now be easily visited.

The index, which is an online tool that ranks the world's passports by their cross-border ease of access, was developed by Canada-based international residence and citizenship advisory firm Arton Capital.

In a statement, Philippe May, managing director of Arton Capital’s Singapore office, said the ranking “is a testament of Singapore’s inclusive diplomatic relations and effective foreign policy.”

Until Paraguay’s decision, Singapore, which is the first Asian nation to head the rankings, was tied with Germany with a score of 158. Germany is now in second place, followed by Sweden and South Korea at 157.

Meanwhile, the index brought bad news for American passport holders. According to Arton Capital, since President Trump took office, Americans have become less welcome across the globe, with Turkey and the Central African Republic being the most recent nations to revoke visa-free status, leaving the U.S. with a score of 154 and behind 18 other nations.

At the bottom of the list is Afghanistan, with a score of 22.

New Top 10 Passport Power Ranking:

1. 159 – Singapore

2. 158 – Germany

3. 157 – Sweden, South Korea

4. 156 – Denmark, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Japan, United Kingdom

5. 155 – Luxemburg, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Portugal

6. 154 – Malaysia, Ireland, Canada, United States of America

7. 153 – Austria, Greece, New Zealand

8. 152 – Malta, Czech Republic, Iceland

9. 150 – Hungary

10. 149 – Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia

Source: Agencies

risingbd/Dhaka/Ocotber 25, 2017/A K Azad