Singapore tops new list of world's most powerful passports

According to the 2017 global passport power rank, Singapore has the world's most powerful passport which makes it the first time an Asian country will top the list.

The ranking which was produced by advisory firm Arton Capital ranked all of the passports of the world by their "total visa-free score," where a point is given for each country that their holders can visit without a visa, with a visa on arrival, or using electronic travel authorisation. Singapore scored 159 points meaning Singaporean passport holders can now easily visit 159 countries, either visa-free or by gaining a visa on arrival. Singaporeans however require a visa to enter Nigeria. Prior to the recent ranking, the Asian country shared first place with Germany on 158 points but a recent decision by Paraguay to remove visa requirements for passport holders of Singapore gave the country a clear lead. Germany is second on 158, closely followed by Sweden and South Korea at 157.
The United Kingdom got a score of 156, while the United States got 154. Bringing up the rear is Afghanistan, with a score of 22, followed by Pakistan and Iraq at 26. Seychelles has Africa's most powerful passport with a score of 130 and comes in at 30th place worldwide while Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho round up the continent's top five. With a score of 43, the Nigerian passport is ranked 47th in Africa and 85th in the world. Unsurprisingly, Somalia is Africa's least powerful passport.