Syllabus: Miscellaneous
| Context Source: Hindustan Times India’s passport ranked 80th in Henley Passport Index (HPI) 2024 list, with citizens allowed to travel to 62 countries without a visa. |
Key Points of Henley Passport Index
- The average number of visa-free destinations has nearly doubled since 2006, according to the 2024 Henley Passport Index.
- It is the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
- It started in 2006 as the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index (HVRI).
- The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest, most accurate travel information database, and enhanced by Henley & Partners’ research team. (Henley & Partners is a London-based advisory firm).
- The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.
Highlights of Henley Passport Index 2024:
- Four EU member states — France, Germany, Italy and Spain — join Singapore and Japan in the most powerful passports in the world.
- The top 10 is largely dominated by European countries.
- India’s Passport secured the 80th rank in the latest Henley Passport Index 2024.
- The United Arab Emirates was the fastest climber over the past decade, jumping to 11th place and offering access to 183 destinations without a visa.
- Afghanistan occupies the bottom spot on the list, with access to just 28 countries without a visa.
- Syria, with visa-free access to only 29 destinations, holds the second-lowest position, followed by Iraq with 31 and Pakistan with 34.
