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ALAMY
Where will your passport take you?
Not all countries are created equal. Depending on your nationality and the country of issue of your passport, you may – or may not- travel at will on our planet.
Diplomacy has always been a privilege, and a passport is one of the most thought-after benefices of mutual understanding between countries. A required visa to a foreign country is always a privilege bestowed on you by a government allowing you to enter and visit their country. Always remember that and act/behave accordingly.
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The official site Passport Index has established a ranking system of the most powerful passports in the World, based on how many countries each passport holder can visit without any visa to enter.
Here is the list of the best travel documents to possess and the countries they will allow you to freely visit. Of course, others will require a visa, and some might be easy to obtain, and some can be very hard to get. Thirty-one countries are part of the top 10 for the greatest numbers of no-visa locations.
We, the US, are not number one. Sigh.
And, no, we (the US) are not the number one passport to have, shocking! So, ladies and gentlemen, drum roll here, the most powerful number 1 passport to travel the World with is the GERMAN one – yes, the little red book indeed allows free entry to 177 countries.
Number 2: Sweden at 176 countries. Follows real closely the number 1.
Number 3: Italy, France, Spain, Finland, the UK. At 175 countries.
Number 4: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, the USA. At 174 free-to-enter destinations - frankly, we could have assumed that an American passport was more important than that. Who wants to shout ‘Yeah, we’re number four?’
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Number 5: Austria, Japan, Singapore. All stand at 173 countries on their list.
Number 6: Canada, Ireland, South Korea, Luxemburg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland. Offering 172 destinations free of visas. Wow! Who would not want a Swiss passport?
Number 7: Greece, New Zealand both offer 171 countries.
Number 8: Australia. Kiwis beat Aussies on that one, they must be jumping for joy – 169 destinations.
Number 9: Malta, at 168 countries. A tiny but powerful island.
Number 10: Hungary, Iceland, Czech Republic each have 167 countries on their list.
With the yoyo travel bans of the new American administration, we might possibly lose a few friends and descend into the list at lower than the 4th position, that remains to be seen.
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