Belgian passport seventh most powerful in the world

While the strength of Belgian passports are losing ground, they are still the seventh most valuable in the world to possess, according to the annual Henley Passport Index. The index is published by the London-based multi-national citizenship consultancy Henley & Partners.

The index is based on how many countries a passport holder can enter without a visa. A Belgian passport on its own will get you into 184 countries.

Belgium has dropped one place in the index, from sixth last year. In 2017, it came in fourth. But, while its power is decreasing, it still counts more countries than when it stood at number four. That means that other countries’ passport power is increasing faster than Belgium’s.

Japan tops the list for the second year in a row, with a Japanese passport allowing travellers into 190 countries. Because of a number of ties – Singapore and South Korea in second place, for instance, and France and Germany tied for third – there are 18 countries ahead of Belgium.

Tied for seventh place with Belgium are Canada, Greece and Ireland. At the bottom of the list are Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Passports from the final two only allow access to 30 countries without a visa.

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