Singapore ranked fourth in world for country with most travel freedom

Singapore has ranked the fourth country in the world with the most travel freedom by Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association, up from its current position on the fifth place for three consecutive years.
The rank was decided by according to the number of other countries or territories that their citizens can travel to without having to obtain a visa. Singapore can travel visa-free to 173 other countries or territories currently.
On the first place is Germany with 176 countries to be accessed without visas, which has been gaining the position for four consecutive years.
Sweden ranked the second for having 175 countries or territories to be accessed without the visa.
On the third place, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain and the United States with 174 countries or territories.
Sitting in the fourth place, along with the Republic, are Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom.
While, Ireland, Japan, and New Zealand ranked fifth with 172 countries or territories.
The country remains the first top in Asia, followed by Malaysia with visa-free access to 164 countries and Brunei with 151 countries.
Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan sit on the bottom three, unchanged from the previous year. They can access 28, 27, and 24 countries and territories respectively.
This year trend saw decreased in the countries or territories to be travelled visa-free. There were 48 countries has lost between one and three ranks. While only 42 countries showed no movement at all.
Christian Kälin, Henley & Partners chairman, said, “We have witnessed several major events recently that are likely to have an impact on global mobility – including Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump.”
“This trend towards curbing travel freedom is already apparent in the shift in rankings on this year’s Visa Restrictions Index,” he added.