Turkey ranks 53rd in the latest edition of a passport-ranking index, providing its citizens visa-free travel to 110 countries around the world.
In the previous edition of the Henley Passport Index, Turkey was ranked 51st.
Japan and Singapore jointly hold the world’s most powerful passports, according to AFP.
As of the beginning of the third quarter of 2019, the index saw some reshuffling following new visa policies from Pakistan and developments with Brexit.
While Japan and Singapore managed to hold on to an 18-month winning streak with visa-free access to 189 countries, notable movers and shakers this term include the United Arab Emirates, which entered the top 20 index for the first time in the list’s 14-year-history.
Meanwhile, both the US and the UK dropped to the lowest position they’ve held since 2010, sharing sixth spot.
Their decline is attributed notably to their exclusion in Pakistan’s Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) program, which was extended to 50 countries.
The UK’s imminent exit from Europe is also poised to weaken the power and status of the British passport, analysts say.
With visa-free access to just 25 countries, Afghanistan sits at the bottom of the list.
The most powerful passports as of July 2, 2019 were:
1. Japan, Singapore
2. South Korea, Germany, Finland
3. Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg
4. France, Sweden, Spain
5. Austria, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland
6. Norway, UK, US, Belgium, Canada, Greece, Ireland
7. Malta
8. Czech Republic
9. Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, Lithuania
10. Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia