India fares poorly in global ranking of passports -Governance Now

India fares poorly in global ranking of passports

Germany is in the lead, with Singapore in second place

GN Bureau | January 18, 2017

#Passport Index #India #passport issuance #visa

India has the 81st position on the Passport Index, the real-time global ranking of the world’s passports. It is ahead of its neighbours Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Passports of the world are ranked by their total visa-free score.

Nepal is in the 90th position, while Bangladesh and Sri Lanka share the 92nd position. Pakistan ranks a low 97.

Read: Inordinate delays in passport issuance: CAG report

Germany takes the lead with a visa-free score of 157. Singapore overtakes South Korea and becomes the highest ranked Asian passport, with a visa free score of 156, coming second. South Korea fell to 6th place (152), while Japan, rose to 4th place, tied with European countries like Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and others whose visa-free score is 154. Visa-free score represents the number of countries a passport holder can visit visa-free or with visa on arrival.

Also read: Get passports in 10 days with Aadhaar, police verification later

In addition to the popular mosaic of passports, visitors of PassportIndex.org can now see the overall changes to the ranking of countries in 2016. Marshall Islands is on top of the winners’ list by adding 35 countries to its visa-free score. Palau, Micronesia, follow with 34 additional countries, while Solomon Islands and Tuvalu added 33. Peru is the biggest winner in South America with additional 31 countries.

Read: Single parent can now apply for child’s passport

In recent years, citizenship by investment has become a $2 billion industry, with over 20,000 investors seeking a second residency or citizenship around the globe every year.

Also read: The passport ranking 2017

Comments

Other News

How Ayurveda and Yoga can help heal common ailments

Healing Revolution: Defeat 100 Ailments with Ayurveda, Yoga and Lifestyle By Ram K. Sharma Rupa Books, 272 pages, Rs 395

Green cities: A pathway to sustainability

As the world observes Earth Day on April 22, the imperative for sustainable urban development has never been more pressing. Urban areas contribute approximately 70% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (UN-Habitat Report, 2023). In India, the urban population is projected to reach 800 million by 2050 (

A unique way of looking at nature, at people, at life itself

Another Day in Landour: Looking Out from My Window By Ruskin Bond HarperCollins, 220 pages, Rs 399 Landour is a q

‘Better than the entire world’: Here’s the ‘India book’ for ages

The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India By Gopalkrishna Gandhi Aleph Books, 624 pages, Rs 999 Vet

Why the youth’s ‘affair’ with stock market is usually tragic

Nine out of 10 individual traders in the equity Futures and Options (F&O) segment have incurred net losses, according to a recent SEBI study. What’s even more striking is that a significant portion of these traders are young individuals – students, early professionals and first-time earners

Why recognizing unpaid work makes sense

Across the globe, unpaid domestic and caregiving work remains an unseen yet essential contributor to economic and social well-being. Women, in particular, dedicate significant hours to household tasks and caregiving, yet this labour remains excluded from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculations, leading t