Your Philippine Passport is the 78th Most Powerful in the World in 2023

Heads up, the Philippines’ passport ranking is out! The verdict: We have the 78th most powerful passport in the world, rising two spots from last year’s ranking by Henley & Partners. The London-based investment migration consultancy released the 2023 Henley Passport Index, ranking the strongest and weakest passports in the world of the year.  

Evaluating 199 countries and 227 destinations, the report assesses passports based on the number of destinations that holders can access without applying for a visa. As of January 2023, the Philippine passport grants Filipinos visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 67 destinations around the world. The Philippines shares the 78th spot with Uganda.

Also read: Airbnbs in the Philippines That Will Remind You of Foreign Countries

Where your Philippine passport can take you

Aspiring globetrotters can tick off the visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations first on their bucket list. Trust us, there are plenty to choose from, even with your Philippine passport ranking at 78th place!

• Armenia (visa on arrival)
• Barbados
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Burundi (visa on arrival)
• Cambodia
• Cape Verde (visa on arrival)
• Colombia
• Comoros (visa on arrival)
• Cook Islands
• Cote d’Ivoire or Ivory Coast
• Costa Rica
• Dominica
• Fiji
• Gambia
• Guinea-Bissau (visa on arrival)
• Haiti
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Iran (visa on arrival)
• Israel
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan (visa on arrival)
• Laos
• Macao
• Madagascar (visa on arrival)
• Malawi (visa on arrival)
• Malaysia
• Maldives (visa on arrival)
• Marshall Islands (visa on arrival)
• Mauritania (visa on arrival)
• Mauritius (visa on arrival)
• Micronesia
• Mongolia
• Morocco
• Mozambique (visa on arrival)
• Myanmar
• Nepal (visa on arrival)
• Nicaragua (visa on arrival)
• Niue
• Pakistan (Electronic Travel Authorization or eTA for visa on arrival)
• Palau (visa on arrival)
• Palestinian Territory
• Papua New Guinea (visa on arrival)
• Peru
• Rwanda
• Saint Lucia (visa on arrival)
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa (visa on arrival)
• Senegal (visa on arrival)
• Seychelles (visa on arrival)
• Singapore
• Somalia (visa on arrival)
• Sri Lanka (eTA)
• Suriname
• Taiwan
• Tajikistan (visa on arrival)
• Tanzania (visa on arrival)
• Thailand
• Timor-Leste (visa on arrival)
• Togo (visa on arrival)
• Trinidad and Tobago (visa on arrival)
• Tuvalu (visa on arrival)
• Uganda (visa on arrival)
• Vanuatu
• Vietnam

How does the rest of the world rank?

As the Philippines rose a few places from its previous ranking, three other countries from Asia kept the top three spots on the index. Japan continues to be the most powerful passport in the world, while Singapore and South Korea share second place with visa-free access.

Meanwhile, the rest of the top 10 is dominated by European countries:

1. Japan (193 destinations)
2. Singapore and South Korea (192 destinations)
3. Germany and Spain (190 destinations)
4. Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg (189 destinations)
5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, and Sweden (188 destinations)
6. France, Ireland, Portugal, and United Kingdom (187 destinations)
7. Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States (186 destinations)
8. Australia, Canada, Greece, and Malta (185 destinations)
9. Hungary and Poland (184 destinations)
10. Lithuania and Slovakia (183 destinations)

Making up the least powerful passports on the index, nine countries have visa-free access to 40 or fewer destinations:

100. Congo, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Sudan (42 destinations)
     
101. Kosovo and Libya (41 destinations)
102. North Korea (40 destinations)
103. Nepal and Palestinian Territory (38 destinations)
104. Somalia (35 destinations)
105. Yemen (34 destinations)
106. Pakistan (32 destinations)
107. Syria (30 destinations)
108. Iraq (29 destinations)
109. Afghanistan (27 destinations)

The Henley Passport Index is updated quarterly. Find the rest of the rankings here.

Also read: Passport Renewal Amid COVID-19 for Philippine Passport Holders 

So, how do you feel about the Philippines’ passport ranking? And how many visa-free countries have you ticked off your bucket list? Let us know!