Unlike other passport rankings, the Nomad Passport Index (NPI) focuses on broader criteria such as global recognition and individual freedoms within a particular country.
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Digital nomads have seen a surge in popularity recently, and while many destinations have simple nationality requirements, your country of origin can also have a big impact on your travel opportunities.
It has had a knock-on effect on passports too, with people now able to know exactly how nomad-friendly their travel documents are.
Nomad Capitalist, a company that aims to “maximize freedom,” has announced its annual rankings.
Unlike the Henley Passport Index, which ranks the world’s most powerful passports and uses data from the International Air Transport Association, the Nomad Passport Index (NPI) takes a different approach.
The ranking looked at 199 passports from around the world, examining their rankings in terms of visa-free travel, global recognition and taxation of citizens. The ranking also looked at dual citizenship and personal freedoms.
According to this metric, what are the best and worst passports in the world?
This is good news for many European countries, with eight countries from the continent making it into the top ten.
Switzerland took the top spot, followed by Ireland and Portugal in second and third place respectively.
Next come Luxembourg, Finland and the United Arab Emirates, followed by the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and New Zealand.
Holders of these passports not only can travel visa-free to most countries around the world, but they are also more likely to be accepted in the country they are moving to.
Outside the top 10, NPI said Bulgaria is one country to watch in future rankings.
The Balkan country’s passport has risen from 42nd to 32nd place in the index in just two years, likely due in large part to its expected membership of Europe’s Schengen Area later this month.
European countries including Iceland, Italy and Greece also feature in places between 11 and 26 on the list, with only Singapore topping out the rest at 27th.
Meanwhile, the lowest ranking country out of 199 citizenship countries was almost the same as the country in Henry’s passport index.
Afghanistan ranked last, followed by neighbouring countries Iraq, Yemen and Eritrea.
What determines whether a passport is “good” or “bad”?
Nomad Capitalist has revealed more details about how the rankings are calculated.
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The index analyzes five criteria, each with different statistical weighting.
Visa-free travel accounts for 50 percent of the score, and taxes for 20 percent.
This is followed by international recognition, the ability to hold dual citizenship, and personal freedoms (including freedom of the press and military service), each of which accounted for 10 percent of the total results.
Nomad Capitalist explains how it works: “While most exponents, and most people, think of passports solely in terms of travel privileges, Nomad Capitalist recognizes that citizens of different countries meet different requirements to pay taxes, comply with regulations, live freely, and avoid surveillance while traveling.”
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