Kazakhstan ranked 66th in the latest World Passport Index released by Henley & Partners, with Kazakh passport holders enjoying visa-free access to 78 countries worldwide, QazMonitor reports.
Last year, Kazakhstan rankd 68th, offering its citizens visa-free entry to 75 countries.
For the first time in the company's 19-year observation history, six countries have jointly claimed the top spot, offering a record number of visa-free travel opportunities. Among them, four are member states of the European Union – Germany, Italy, Spain, and France – while the remaining two are Asian countries, namely Singapore and Japan. Passport holders from these countries can travel visa-free to 194 destinations worldwide.
Securing the second position, South Korea, Finland, and Sweden offer visa-free access to 193 destinations, while Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands share the third spot with 192 destinations. Among the top 10 countries, the United Kingdom claims the fourth place (191), and the United States holds the seventh place (187), marking a decade since their 2014 leadership.
Henley & Partners' research links visa-free travel opportunities with a country's economic prospects, relying on the current Henley Passport Index data and World Bank GDP data. It evaluates 199 passports in terms of the "passport strength" indicator (Henley Passport Power, HPP). This indicator demonstrates the percentage of global GDP each passport provides to its holders visa-free.
