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Ph keeps 73rd place in 2024 global passport index
By J.Lo
“We anticipate this growth will continue, and our research has consistently shown strong correlation between country’s visa free score and its economic prosperity,” Henley & Partners managing director Scott Moore said Philippine passport kept its spot at 73rd out of 199 passports globally in latest Henley Passport Index, ranking of all world’s passports based on visa-free travel to other countries.
While country’s position remains unchanged from its previous January ranking, number of visa-free destinations for Filipino passport holders went down from 69 to 67.
Armenia and Togo changed their visa policies and removed visa-free entry for travelers from the Philippines, among other countries, said Moore in press conference.
Disregarding years when COVID-19 pandemic halted global travel, Philippines has been “fairly consistent” on passport index “with slight trend upwards” since 2015, Moore said.
With Philippines’ annual economic growth hovering around 6 to 7.5% in past decade, Moore said stronger economy in the next years could raise Philippine passport’s visa-free score.
Nations with higher visa-free scores tend to enjoy greater GDP (Gross domestic product) per capita, increased foreign investments and more robust international trade relationships, he explained.
Compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors, Philippines’ visa-free score is “right in the middle of the pack,” Moore said.
Based on July 2024 index, Philippines’ passport performs better than Vietnam and South Asian countries India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and China scored higher than Philippines.
Singapore, reclaimed top spot as most powerful passport with visa-free access to 195 countries, is “definitely outlier,” Moore said.
Second to Singapore are countries France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain, all share spot.
Sitting in third place are countries Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden.
Meanwhile, United Kingdom, described as “former passport powerhouse,” remains at 4th place along with Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland.
Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the list, with its passport losing visa-free travel to another country in the last six months. This brings Afghanistan’s access to visa-free countries to just 26, lowest score ever recorded in the history of 19-year-old index.
Henley Passport Index ranks countries’ passports based on official data from International Air Transport Association.
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