Dhaka Bureau: Bangladesh has fallen another step behind the world’s strongest passport index in 2024, according to the UK-based consulting firm Hanley & Partners. On Tuesday (February 20), the British consulting firm published the passport index of 199 countries. In the latest index, North Korea is in the 102nd position, jointly with Bangladesh, in the list of the strongest passports. Although earlier, Bangladesh was ranked 101 in Hanley & Partners’ passport index,.
Last year’s Bangladeshi passport was ranked 96th in this list. In the index published on January 10 of the same year, Bangladesh’s position was 101. Compared to the last version of last year, the position of Bangladeshi passports has deteriorated one step more this year.
The Hanley & Partners index of powerful passports is based on information from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) on how many countries a country’s passport can enter visa-free or visa-on-arrival. Hanley has determined a total of 109 positions this year, as some countries have a joint position in the index of 199 countries in the world.
For the past 19 years, the organization has been publishing rankings every year on how strong the passport of any country in the world is. This index is published every 3 months.
In the index published in February this year, the passport of Bangladesh is in the 102nd position, jointly with North Korea, which is almost isolated from the rest of the world. According to this year’s edition, Bangladeshi passport holders can currently travel to 42 out of 227 destinations in the world visa-free or visa-on-arrival.
It is not possible to travel to any European country without an advance visa using a Bangladeshi passport. Among the South Asian countries, the Maldives has the strongest position (58th). Maldivian passport holders can travel to 96 countries without a visa. It is followed by India (85th), Bhutan (92nd), and Myanmar (97th). Among South Asian countries, Sri Lanka is one step higher than Bangladesh (101st). Besides, the passports of Nepal (103rd), Pakistan (106th), and Afghanistan are at the very bottom (109th).
This year, Hanley has seen an unprecedented position in this index. This year, a total of six countries in the world jointly occupied the top position in the index of the most powerful passports. And these six countries are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain. Citizens of these countries can travel to 194 destinations around the world without a visa or on arrival visa.
Afghanistan is at the bottom of Hanley’s passport index (109th). Passport holders from this country can enter 28 countries without a visa.
