TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The British consultancy firm Henley and Partners lists the Taiwan passport as the 34th strongest in the world.
In the latest Henley Passport Index, Singapore came in first place with a score of 195. This means that passport holders from this country can enter 195 countries without a visa or a visa on arrival.
There was a seven-way tie for second place among Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Spain at 192. For third place, there was a seven-way tie of 191 for Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
Tied with Peru at 34th, Taiwan towered over its neighbors China and the Philippines, which came in 60th and 75th place, respectively. In East Asia and Southeast Asia, Taiwan has the eighth most powerful passport, behind Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brunei, and Macau, according to the index.
Taiwan passport holders can visit 141 countries, while China passport owners can visit 85 countries. Philippine passport holders can only visit 67 countries without prior visa approval.
Taiwan ranked 55th when the list was first announced in 2006, with its lowest ranking being 69th in 2010 and highest 24th in 2014. Since 2015, its ranking has consistently been in the 30s.
The weakest passport in the world is Afghanistan at 106th. This is followed by Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Nepal, Palestinian Territory, Libya, and Bangladesh.
Henley and Partners ranks 199 passports in terms of the number of countries their holders can enter without prior visa approval among 227 travel destinations, based on data provided by the Air Transport Association.