South Korea has ranked second among 199 countries in the Global Passport Index.
According to Yonhap News on the 10th (local time), the first quarter 2024 Passport Index released by Henley & Partners, a British international exchange specialist, showed that the number of countries that can be entered without a visa with a South Korean passport is 193, tied for second place with Finland and Sweden.
The Passport Index of Henley & Partners is an index that quantifies how many countries passport holders of a specific country can arrive in without a visa, based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
South Korea, which had remained in third place (189 countries) in the second half last year, climbed one step to second place in just six months.
This year, Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain tied for first place, allowing their citizens to enter 194 countries without a visa.
This is the first time since the index began in 2006 that six countries have simultaneously ranked first.
Over the past decade, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has seen the most significant rise in the index.
The UAE, which ranked 55th (77 countries) in 2014, added 106 countries in 10 years and jumped to 11th place this year.
Contrastingly, the United States and the United Kingdom, which held the top position jointly in 2014, have declined since then.
In the current rankings, the UK passport permits visa-free entry to 191 countries, ranking fourth with Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal. Meanwhile, the United States, offering visa-free access to 188 countries, shares seventh place with Canada and Hungary.
The Afghan passport, which ranked last at 104th place again this year as it did last year, allowed visa-free travel to only 28 countries.
North Korea tied with Bangladesh at 97th place with 42 countries, while Syria (29 countries, 103rd place) and Iraq (31 countries, 102nd place) were also at the bottom of the list.
By. Bora Kang
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