No Improvement in Nepal’s Passport Ranking

When ‘The Henley Passport Index’ released the world ranking of passports for the first time in 2006, Nepal was ranked 76th. However, in the 2024 passport index released by the same organization on Monday, Nepal has fallen to the 103rd place in the global rankings. Notably, Nepal held the same position in 2023.

Over the 18 years since the ranking list’s inception, rather than improving, Nepal’s ranking has declined by 27 places.

Nepal dropped from the 88th position in 2010 to 103rd in 2024, with intermediate standings at 90th in 2014, 105th in 2015, and 110th in 2021.  Nepal is sharing its ranking with Libya and Palestine, conflict-affected countries.

North Korea holds a position one rank above Nepal at 102nd. Myanmar, under military rule, is ranked 97th, while Congo, South Sudan, and Nigeria hold the 98th, 99th, and 100th positions, respectively. In South Asia, only Pakistan and Afghanistan possess weaker passports than Nepal, with Pakistan at 106th and Afghanistan at 108th.

Among South Asian nations, the Maldives boasts the strongest passport, ranking 58th globally. Following that, India is at 85th, Bhutan at 92nd, Sri Lanka at 101st, and Bangladesh at 102nd.

France leads the list, possessing the most powerful passport. According to the index, French citizens can travel to 194 countries without requiring a visa, making the French passport the world’s most powerful. Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain also share the top spot, with their citizens enjoying visa-free access to 194 countries.