SA PASSPORT SCORES A ’MEH’

You may think your Green Mamba has just been collecting dust in a drawer somewhere, but it’s also just slid in at #99 on a ranking of the world’s most powerful passports — smack in the middle of a list of 199.

According to research by offshore consulting firm Nomad Capitalist, the world’s “best” passports belong to citizens of Sweden, Ireland and Luxembourg, which all tied for the top spot.

To come up with the ranking, the researchers looked at 199 countries and attributed points to each one according to five categories: how many countries passport-holders can visit visa-free, their governments’ policy on international taxation, how citizens are perceived globally, their possibilities of dual citizenship, and personal freedoms at home. The first-place winners all scored 114.

The others in the top 10 are Switzerland and Belgium, tied in fourth with 113.5 points; Finland and Portugal, tied in sixth with 113; and Singapore, the Czech Republic and Malta tied in eighth with 112.

The British passport ranks highly at number 11 as its citizens can visit 185 countries visa-free and are thought of quite highly abroad. The US passport, ranked at number 40, allows visa-free entry to 185 countries, but citizens are taxed on their worldwide income no matter where they live.

Simply in terms of travel, Japan comes out on top with 191 visa-free destinations.

The South African passport offers access to a relatively high number of countries visa-free (101) but, according to the researchers, scores poorly on taxation, global perception and personal freedom, with a total score of 60.5.

With a score of 21, the Afghan passport is judged the “worst”. It allows entry into only 26 countries visa-free and its citizens encounter substantial hostility. They are forbidden to hold other citizenships, and enjoy less freedom. Iraq ranks second-worst with a score of 23.