Taiwan ranks 33rd on global passport index in 2024

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) A Taiwan passport enables its holder to enter 141 destinations visa-free, meaning the travel document ranks 33rd among 199 countries and regions, according to the 2024 Henley Passport Index.

This year, Taiwan ranks the same as Peru, a slight improvement from 35th place in 2023, according to the index released on Wednesday (Taipei time) by citizenship consultancy firm Henley & Partners.

Since the company started releasing annual rankings 19 years ago, Taiwan has climbed from 55th to 33rd place.

During this time, Taiwan's ranking dropped to its lowest point of 69th place in 2010, and reached its highest position of 24th in 2014.

Since 2015, however, Taiwan's position has stayed relatively steady at around the 30th place, according to the report.

Singapore rose from second to first place in this year's rankings, with visa-free access to 195 destinations. The Southeast Asian city-state has ranked first and second place every year since 2018.

Following Singapore are France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain, tied in second place with visa-free access to 192 destinations each.

Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea and Sweden tie at third place with 191 countries or regions not requiring holders to apply for visas in advance, according to the index.

Next up are Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the U.K., tied in fourth place with no-prior-visa access to 190 destinations.

Rounding up fifth place are Australia and Portugal, whose passport holders can travel to 189 destinations visa-free, the report indicated.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong ranks 18th with visa-exemptions to 170 destinations, while China ranks at 59th with 85 countries and regions, according to the index.

2024 Henley Passport Index rankings are calculated according to how many countries or regions each passport enables its holder to enter without having received a visa prior to arrival.

The index compares 199 passports' access to 227 travel destinations based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, "the largest, most accurate travel information database," according to Henley & Partners.

Based in London, Henley & Partners is "the global leader in residence and citizenship by investment," according to their official website.