Taipei, July 3 (CNA) Taiwan's passport has been ranked as the 30th most powerful passport in terms of the number of destinations its holder can access visa-free, according to the latest survey by Henley and Partners.
In the 2019 Passport Index as of July 2, 2019 based on data compiled by the International Air Transport Association, Taiwan ranked 30th with visa-free travel to 146 countries, the survey showed.
That was up 24 notches from its 54th place ranking in 2009, but its ranking has remained relatively flat in recent years, finishing 29th in 2016, 31st in 2017 and 29th in 2018.
China shared the 74th spot with Kenya this year, with visa-free travel to 70 countries.
The rankings of 199 passports and 227 travel destinations are somewhat misleading in that multiple passports can occupy one spot in the rankings.
That means that while Taiwan is ranked 30th, there are actually 60 passports that offer visa-free access to other destinations, a number that has gradually grown over the past few years, from 52 in 2016, to 56 in 2017 and 58 in 2018.
Japan and Singapore topped the rankings, having secured visa-free travel for its citizens to 189 countries .
Germany, which was last year's top-ranked country, along with Finland and South Korea tied for second, with their passports offering access to 187 countries without a visa.
Denmark, Italy and Luxembourg ranked 3rd with visa-free travel to 186 countries, followed by France, Sweden and Spain in fourth with visa-free access to 185 destinations, and Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland in fifth with visa-free access to 184 destinations.
Among other Asian countries and areas, Malaysia finished 13th, ahead of Hong Kong in 19th, Thailand in 70th, and Indonesia in 75th.
Afganistan ranked at the bottom in 109th place, with its passport holders given visa-free treatment in only 25 destinations.
Rerernce at: http://focustaiwan.tw/news/afav/201907030015.aspx
