Philippine passport improves standing on global passport ranking

The Philippine passport continues to strengthen its international standing as it has climbed up five spots in the 2024 Global Passport Ranking of the global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.

The newly-released list looks at 199 passports around the world and 227 travel destinations, with the Philippine passport ranking in 73rd place, tied with the passport of Uganda and the Cape Verde Islands. The Philippine passport's 73rd place ranking is five places higher than last year's ranking of 78 and is seven places higher than the 2022 ranking of 80th place. it is also four places higher than the Philippine passport's ranking during the first quarter of 2022, when it placed in 77th place.

Henley & Partners makes its list through the information acquired from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The passports are ranked depending on how many countries it allows its holders to visit without having a visa. The passports of the Philippines, Uganda, and the Cape Verde Islands can get its holders into 69 countries around the world without a visa.

While the Singapore passport topped the list in the previous year, this time it is joined by passports from five other countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain. Last year's list had Japan in second place, while Germany, Spain, France and Italy were in third place.

Rounding out this year's top five are Finland, South Korea, and Sweden in second place; Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands in third; Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom in fourth; and Greece, Malta, and Switzerland in fifth.

The United States passport, which previously topped the list in 2014, remained in seventh place, while Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria remain at the bottom of the list. The Afghan passport only allows visa-free entry to 28 countries, while the Iraqi and Syrian ones give its users access to 29 and 31 countries, respectively.

Loosening travel restrictions, such as South Korea allowing for visa-free entry to Jeju Island and Yangyang International Airport, may have contributed to the increased power of the passports on the list.

Agreements between countries, such as the one between Southeast Asian countries that are members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), also increase the number of countries people can enter visa-free.