The Belgian passport does slightly better than last year as it placed fifth in the ranking of the most powerful passports in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index, which annually scrutinises the passports of 199 different countries.
In this year's rankings, Belgium finishes in fifth place (up from seventh last year) – a rank it shares with Czechia, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland. Those with a Belgian passport can travel to 187 countries without requiring a visa.
European passports, in general, are doing a lot better than in 2022; Germany and Spain, for example, both rose from third to second place this year.
As of this year, Singapore can call itself the country with "the most powerful passport in the world." With 192 destinations, those holding a Singaporean passport can travel to most destinations without applying for a visa. In the last ten years, Singapore added 25 visa-free destinations to the list.
Former title holder Japan was knocked off the throne after five years at the top and dropped to third place this year.
The United States is not doing so well. Within the top 10, the country has made the smallest progress in recent years and is now in eighth place. The United Kingdom, which dropped a few places on the list after Brexit, is moving up the list for the first time, finishing in fourth place.
The country with the least freedom of travel is Afghanistan, as Afghan citizens can only travel to 27 countries without obtaining a visa. Citizens from Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen also enjoy the most limited travel freedoms.
Still, the Henley & Partners researchers are hopeful about the future and underlined that in the ranking's 18-year history, they have seen the average number of destinations travellers have visa-free access to nearly double: from 58 in 2006 to 109 today.
"Global connectivity and accessibility have become indispensable attributes for wealth creation and preservation, and their value will only increase as geopolitical volatility and regional instability intensify," the report concludes.
How is "the most powerful passport" determined?
The ranking with the most powerful passports in the world is determined by the Henley Passport Index, a gauge that measures global travel freedom.
The index looks at which of the 227 travel destinations citizens can travel to with their passports, without having to apply for a visa. Based on that travel freedom, countries are assigned a score.
