Bangladeshi passport drops 5 notches in latest rankings

The rank of Bangladeshi passport has dropped by five notches in the latest rankings in the Henley Passport Index 2018. 

Bangladeshi passport ranked 100 with visa free access in 41 countries in 2018, according to rankings released on October 9 by Henley & Partners, a citizenship and planning firm.

In 2017, Bangladesh ranked in the 95th position with access to 38 countries, the index said.

For making the ranking index, Henley & Partners took into account how many countries can be visited using the passport without applying for a visa. 

The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, and is enhanced by extensive, ongoing in-house research.

The latest index was based on 199 countries.

Apart from Bangladesh, Lebanon, Iran and Kosovo also ranked 100th in the latest rankings.

Japan has the most powerful passports, according to the ranking, with visa-free access to 190 countries in the world.

The country ranked 5th in the previous year’s ranking.

Singapore, which had the 4th most powerful passport in 2017, has moved up to second in the ranking for 2018 with access to 189 countries, according to the index.

Passports of France, Germany, and South Korea, all of which have access to 188 countries, have been placed third in the 2018 ranking.