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Tuesday 27 December 2016

How Powerful is Your International Passport?

      A very important requirement to travel from one country to another in every country is a passport. It is in the passport Visas get stamped and travelling is possible. Without a visa a traveller cannot buy a flight ticket to the country he or she is travelling to. And without a passport one cannot travel by flight on a long distance in and out of his or her country or even within the country by flight. If a country does not grant you a visa but you find a way to get to that country; you're an illegal immigrant and can be jailed or sent back home and banned from ever travelling to that country. Yes guys,  its that serious. However there are some countries with more powerful passports than others.
One may ask, what makes a passport powerful? Isn't it just a book where visas get stamped in?
Apparently, a passport is more than just a book. The strength or power of a passport is calculated or measured by the number of countries one can visit without a visa. This means if you have a passport and you have to get a visa before making every trip then your passport isn't that powerful and unfortunately there is nothing you can do about it. The least powerful passports are as follows in ascending order;

  1. Burundi, North Korea, Myanmar (42 countries can be visited without a request for a visa).
  2. Bangladesh, Congo, Lebanon, Sri Lanka (39 countries).
  3. Kosovo, South Sudan, Yemen (38 countries).
  4. Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Nepal, Palestinian Territory, Sudan (37 countries).
  5. Libya (37 countries).
  6. Syria (32 countries).
  7. Somalia (31 countries).
  8. Iraq (30 countries).
  9. Pakistan (29 countries).
  10. Afghanistan (25 countries).
The Ghanaian passport is not part of the least powerful passports in the world. Are you wondering that it could be probably part of the ten most powerful passports in the world? Well, lets list them to find out if the Ghanaian passport is that powerful.
Below are the top ten powerful passports in the whole world in descending order;

  1. Germany (177 countries can be visited without a visa requirement ).
  2. Sweden (176 countries).
  3. Finland, France, Italy, Spain, United States of America (175 countries).
  4. Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, (174 countries).
  5. Austria, Japan, Singapore (173 countries).
  6. Canada, Ireland, South Korea, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland (172 countries).
  7. Greece, New Zealand (171 countries).
  8. Australia (169 countries).
  9. Malta (168 countries).
  10. Hungary, Czech Republic, Iceland (167 countries).
Wow! So neither Ghana nor its neighbouring countries was seen in this category. Well, that means Ghana is neither powerful nor less powerful. With a Ghanaian passport, one can travel to a maximum of 66 countries without a VISA. These countries are listed below;
  1. ARMENIA
  2. AZERBAIJAN
  3. BANGLADESH
  4. BARBADOS
  5. BELARUS
  6. BENIN
  7. BELIZE
  8. BURKINA FASO
  9. CAPE VERDE
  10. COOK ISLANDS
  11. CÔTE D'IVOIRE
  12. CAMBODIA
  13. COMOROS
  14. DOMINICA
  15. DJIBOUTI
  16. EGYPT
  17. ECUADOR
  18. FIJI
  19. GEORGIA
  20. MICRONESIA 
  21. GRENADA
  22. GAMBIA
  23. GINEA-BISSAU
  24. HAITI
  25. KENYA
  26. LIBERIA
  27. MALI
  28. SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
  29. MAURITANIA
  30. MONTSERRAT
  31. MAURITIUS
  32. MAURITANIA
  33. MALAWI
  34. NIGER
  35. NIGERIA
  36. NIUE
  37. PHILIPINES
  38. KOSOVO
  39. SINGAPORE
  40. SIERRA-LEONE
  41. SENEGAL
  42. SWAZILAND
  43. TOGO
  44. TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
  45. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
  46. BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
  47. VANUATU
  48. IRAQ
  49. JORDAN
  50. LAOS
  51. SAINT LUCIA
  52. MADAGASCAR
  53. MACAU
  54. MALDIVES
  55. MOZAMBIQUE
  56. NAURU
  57. PALAU
  58. SEYCHELLES
  59. SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
  60. EAST TIMOR
  61. TUVALU
  62. TANZANIA
  63. UGANDA
  64. SAMOA
  65. ZIMBABWE
  66. JAMAICA                                  

These are the countries one can visit without a visa but with a Ghanaian passport. Do you also wanna know where your passport can take you to? Just leave a comment below and we will get back to you on it.
Thanks for taking time to read this week's edition. Please don't hesitate to leave a comment.