The strongest passports in the world all come from the same region- and it's an ocean away from the US
- Passport strength measures how easy it is to travel for citizens of each country.
- Countries in Western Europe dominate the list of strongest passports, according to financial consulting company Nomad Capitalist.
- The US passport allows Americans to travel to many countries, but other factors push it down to 35th place.
Passports are your key to traveling the world - but people from certain countries have it better than others.
Nomad Capitalist, a financial consulting company, ranked every country in the world by passport strength to see which travelers get the most out of their citizenship.
Passport strength is typically measured purely by the number of countries one can travel to without a visa or with visa on arrival. However, Nomad Capitalist factored in other metrics to get a better picture of which passport offers the most benefits to those who hold it.
The company weighed five metrics:
- The number of countries a passport holder can visit without a visa or with visa on arrival. (This accounted for 50% of a country's total passport score)
- The level of taxes a country imposes on citizens who live and earn income overseas. (20% of the total score)
- The perception of a country abroad, including whether passport holders from certain countries frequently encounter hostility or are refused entry upon arrival. (10% of the total score)
- The degree to which a country allows dual citizenship (10% of the total score)
- The level of freedom in a country, including the freedom of citizens who live abroad (10% of the total score)
Using these metrics, there was a clear winner: Nearly every country in the top 10 was in Western Europe. The only outlier, New Zealand, managed to tie for tenth place. The United States, typically among the leaders in passport strength when measured by visa-free travel, falls all the way to 35th when accounting for the other factors.
Read on to see the 10 strongest passports in the world, and click here to see the full rankings.