According to the latest Henley passport index Japan and Singapore have topped the list as the world’s most powerful passports as both offer access to 190 destinations without needing a visa in advance.
However both the UK and America have dropped in their rankings.
The index is put together by research carried out by residence and citizenship planning company Henley & Partners.
The index is a ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
Ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, and enhanced by ongoing research by the Henley & Partners Research Department.
Tied together in the second spot are Germany, South Korea and Finland with a 188, while Italy, Denmark and Luxembourg came in third with 187.
Ireland’s passport ranked in sixth place alongside the likes of the United States, the UK, Canada, Belgium and Greece.
While the ranking is still very high it represents the lowest position both the US and the UK has held since 2010.
Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the ranking, in 107th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of just 25, followed by Iraq (27) and Syria (29).
A number of former Soviet states climbed up the ranks with Ukraine and Moldova have both climbing 19 places, while Georgia has jumped 16.
The UAS also saw a dramatic rise in the index jumping a staggering five places since last quarter and 46 places over the past decade.
The top 10 most powerful passports are as follows:
1. Japan
1. Singapore
2. South Korea
2. Germany
2. Finland
3. Denmark
3. Italy
3. Luxembourg
4. France
4. Sweden
4. Spain
5. Austria
5. Netherlands
5. Portugal
6. Norway
6. Switzerland
6. United Kingdom
6. United States
6. Belgium
6. Canada
6. Greece
6. Ireland
7. Czech Republic
7. Malta
8. New Zealand
9. Australia
9. Lithuania
9. Slovakia
10. Iceland
10. Hungary
10. Latvia
10. Slovenia