The Singaporean Passport is Officially the Most Powerful in the World

World News Nilgun Salim
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The Singapore passport has been ranked as “the most powerful” in the world, according to the Global Passport Index, which assesses the degree of freedom of citizens from certain countries and it was published on Wednesday by the Arton Capital global consulting firm.

The ranking was based on a so-called “visa-free score”, which includes lists with countries where a particular passport holder can travel without a visa.

The Singapore passport occupied the top position of the list (159 countries without visas), surpassing the German passport (158) and the Swedish one (157 countries).

The list is usually dominated by European passports, with Germany holding the top position in the past two years.

Paraguay’s abolition of visa requirements for citizens in Singapore propelled the country’s passport to the top of the list for 2017.

“For the first time, an Asian country has the most powerful passport in the world. It is an indication of Singapore’s diplomatic relations and effective foreign policy”, stated Philippe May, CEO of Arton Capital.

Other Asian countries that reached the top 20 are South Korea (visa-free passport for 157 countries), Japan (156) and Malaysia (154).

Instead, the US passport has dropped in rankings since President Donald Trump took over the White House, following decisions by Turkey and the Central African Republic to revoke visa-free entry for US passport holders.