Power of Passport: India fares worse than Zimbabwe, but better than Pakistan

India's passport has risen from 78 to 75 in ranking for world's most powerful passports based on number of countries allowing visa-free travel. Indians are allowed visa-free access by 51 countries.

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New Delhi: More and more Indians may be making overseas trips but their passport fares rather poorly when compared to their international counterparts. According to Passport Index developed by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital, the Indian passport is positioned at 75 - much poorer than African countries like Zimbabwe (65), Uganda (66), Madagascar (74), Rwanda (72) and war-ravaged Sierra Leone (67).

The Passport Index developed by Arton Capital ranks national passports by the cross-border access that they bring by assigning a "visa-free score," according to the number of countries a passport holder can visit visa-free or with visa on arrival.

The passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories were considered.

India's passport entitles holder to visa-free travel to 51 countries. And while it may be less powerful than several African and Asian countries, it still manages to fare better than its immediate neighbours Bhutan (rank: 76), Nepal (rank: 89), Sri Lanka (rank: 89), Bangladesh (rank: 90), Pakistan (rank: 93). At rank 94, Afghanistan's passport is at the absolute bottom.

On the other hand, and for the first time, an Asian country has emerged with the most powerful passport with Singapore citizens permitted visa-free travel to 159 countries. Germany is placed second while Sweden and South Korea are joint-third. United Kingdom shares the fourth place with six European countries and Japan while the United States has fallen to joint-sixth after Turkey and the Central African Republic revoked their visa-free status to Americans.