It’s not something we often take into account, but for some people across the globe it’s extremely difficult to travel outside of their own country.
Unfortunately for nations who’ve had a mix of problems, from war to dictatorships, it’s notoriously tricky to leave.
While for the likes of us Brits, it’s reasonably straight forward to get into one country or another- some even think we hold the most powerful passport in the world, but they’d be wrong.
According to the 2017 Nomad Travel Index, it’s Sweden who hold the top spot- with the Swedes being able to visit 176 countries without a visa, the indy100 reports.
The passports were ranked on how advantageous they were in terms of Visa-free travel, taxation, their reputation, dual citizenship and overall freedom.
Sweden received top marks in terms of personal freedoms, with citizens enjoying free speech, a free press and some of the lowest incarceration rates in the world.
The UK didn’t even manage to break the top 10, coming in 16th place, while the U.S. were way back in 35th.
GettyThe top 10 is as follows:
- Sweden
- Belgium
- Italy
- Spain
- Ireland
- Finland
- Germany
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Luxembourg
At the other end of the table, a war-torn Afghanistan is rooted to the bottom- offered visa-free access to only three small nations. A further 20 countries offer Afghans a visa on arrival, giving the country a score of just 23.
GettyThe likes of Syria (32), Somalia (31) and Iraq (37) are another few less than surprising additions to the passport equivalent of the relegation zone.
So, there you have it- your passport is a lot more powerful than you think.
