New Zealand now has the most powerful passport in the world, according to the latest rankings. The country has knocked off Japan from the joint top position.?
The index which compares the access granted by the passports of 193 United Nations member countries considered the passport of New Zealand to be the world's ¡®most powerful¡¯, In comparison, India ranks 58th on the list.?
New Zealand has visa-free access to fewer countries than before given the pandemic but the rankings show that Kiwi passport holders have not been affected as badly by travel restrictions as other nationalities.
There are now 129 countries offering visa-free access to Kiwis. Even though this is 80 countries up from the height of the pandemic crisis six months ago, it also 40 places less that offered restriction free travel to New Zealanders in 2019.
Japan has slipped to second place, alongside joint entries Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, South Korea and Australia.
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Most of the European countries are in the top 10 list, most retain access to the Schengen 'free movement' zone with few COVID-19 restrictions.
The United States fell to 21st place in the passport rankings. Even though the US Passport has gained some footing since July, the freedom that US passport holders previously enjoyed has been badly affected the impact of COVID-19 in the country.?
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In July, the US passport dropped to an all-time low of 28th in the rankings below Mexico and Uruguay.
The Indian passport shares the 58th spot with with Algeria, Gabon, Jordan and Benin.?
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