According to the latest Henley Passport Index, the Pakistani passport has remained ranked the fourth worst in the world for the fourth consecutive year, reports Dawn.
The index ranks travel documents from 199 countries based on the number of destinations their holders can access without any prior visa requirement.
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In the most recent rankings released on Tuesday, Pakistan's passport ranks joint 100th with Yemen, granting visa-free access to 33 countries. This puts it above only Iraq (101), Syria (102) and Afghanistan (103), a ranking unchanged from last year.
“Afghanistan has become firmly established as the world’s weakest passport, losing access to yet another destination in the past six months, leaving its citizens with visa-free access to only 26 countries – the lowest score ever in the history of the 19-year-old index,” a press release said.
Singapore once again took the top spot, with its passport granting visa-free access to 195 destinations, a new record. In second place are Germany, Italy, Japan, France and Spain, each of which grants access to 192 countries.
In third place are Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea and Sweden, which offer visa-free access to 191 destinations, reports Dawn.
The United Kingdom shared fourth place with Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland, making travel possible to 190 states. The United States ranked eighth with access to 186 destinations.
A notable addition to the top 10 was the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which made its debut in the category. The UAE achieved remarkable growth, now offering visa-free access to 185 destinations, an increase of 152 since the index began in 2006. This increase saw the UAE move up 53 places in the ranking, from 62nd to 9th.
The press release quoted Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, as saying that the UAE's “rapid growth” is the result of deliberate and concerted efforts made by the Emirati government to establish the UAE as a global hub for business, tourism and investment.
“Our research has consistently shown that there is a strong correlation between a country's visa-free score and its economic prosperity. Countries with higher visa-free scores have higher GDP per capita, greater foreign direct investment and stronger international trade ties,” Dawn reports.