"Unprecedented". That's how British consulting firm Henley & Partners described the results of the 2024 index of the world's most powerful passports. In fact, for the first time, six countries topped the list. The previous Japan and Singapore were joined by four EU states-France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Citizens of these countries have visa-free (or visa-on-arrival) access to a record 194 countries out of the 227 considered in the ranking.

Since 2006, the British consulting firm Henley & Partners has been compiling a ranking that decrees which passports are the most powerful in the world, based on the number of destinations holders can access without the need for a visa upon entry. There are many such rankings, but this one remains the most authoritative because it is the only one that is based on data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Through cross-searching, it evaluates passports from 199 countries by relating them to 227 possible destinations around the world. The mechanism for compiling the index is simple: the total score of each passport is equal to the number of destinations for which a visa is not required.

Thus, the Italian passport is confirmed at the top of the 2024 ranking. At the beginning of last year it was still in fourth place (along with Finland and Luxembourg) with access to 189 visa-free travel destinations.

In first place in the 2023 index was Japan (193 out of 227 visa-free destinations).