World Passport Index Comparison
How the Ease Of Travel Index stacks up against Henley, Nomad Capitalist, and Passport Index — methodology and current top 20.
Methodology at a Glance
| Ease Of Travel Index | Henley | Nomad Capitalist | Passport Index | Africa Openness | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Ease Of Travel | Henley & Partners | Nomad Capitalist | Arton Capital | African Development Bank (AfDB) & African Union Commission |
| Scope | Global | Global | Global | Global | Africa (intra-continent) |
| Scoring formula | Weighted utility score across 7 access tiers | Count of visa-free + visa-on-arrival destinations (out of 227) | Composite score across five weighted factors | Count of visa-free + VOA + eTA + fast eVisa destinations (Mobility Score) | Average openness score 0–1 across all other 53 AU member states |
| Data source | Proprietary policy database | IATA Travel Information Manual (TIM); 199 passports × 227 destinations | Proprietary research across five weighted dimensions; 199 citizenships | Proprietary database; 199 UN member passports × 193 destinations (excludes annexed territories) | AfDB research; government visa policy records for 54 African Union member states |
| Updated | Ongoing | Monthly | Annual | Real-time | Annual |
Current Top 20 Rankings
| # | Ease Of Travel Index | Henley | Nomad Capitalist | Passport Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Denmark |  Singapore |  Malta |  United Arab Emirates |
| 2 |  Finland |  Japan |  Ireland | Singapore |
| 3 |  Sweden |  South Korea |  Greece |  Spain |
| 4 |  France | United Arab Emirates |  Romania |  Belgium |
| 5 |  Germany | Sweden |  Cyprus | France |
| 6 |  Italy | Belgium |  Czech Republic | Germany |
| 7 |  Luxembourg | Denmark |  New Zealand | Sweden |
| 8 | Belgium | Finland | Italy |  Netherlands |
| 9 |  Hungary | France |  Bulgaria | Finland |
| 10 | Netherlands | Germany | Hungary | Luxembourg |
| 11 |  Poland | Ireland | United Arab Emirates | Italy |
| 12 | Spain | Italy |  Latvia | Denmark |
| 13 | Malta | Luxembourg | Denmark |  Portugal |
| 14 |  Austria | Netherlands | Belgium |  Switzerland |
| 15 |  Slovakia |  Norway | Norway | Greece |
| 16 | Portugal | Spain | Switzerland | Austria |
| 17 | Ireland | Switzerland | Luxembourg |  Malaysia |
| 18 | Greece | Austria | Finland | Norway |
| 19 |  Slovenia | Greece | Sweden | Ireland |
| 20 | Czech Republic | Malta |  Liechtenstein | South Korea |
Methodology Deep-Dives
Ease Of Travel Index
Our index evaluates passport strength by scoring the quality of access to each destination, not just whether a visa is needed. Each destination is classified into one of seven tiers and assigned a utility weight: Freedom of Movement (15 pts), Visa-Free (12 pts), ETA (10 pts), Visa on Arrival (9 pts), e-Visa (5 pts), Visa-Free Transit (1 pt), Visa Required (0 pts). The total weighted score across all 214 destinations determines rank.
Tiebreakers resolve by comparing the proportion of destinations at each tier from the strongest down, ensuring a deterministic ranking even when two passports have identical scores.
Full methodology →Henley Passport Index
Counts the number of destinations a passport holder can access without obtaining a prior visa — including visa-free entry and visa-on-arrival across 227 destinations (including overseas territories). Each destination counts equally regardless of how easy or hard entry actually is at the border.
Nomad Capitalist Passport Index
Combines five weighted factors: visa-free travel, taxation burden, global perception, dual citizenship allowance, and personal freedom. Passports from countries with citizenship-based or high-burden taxation rank significantly lower than on travel-only indices.
Passport Index
Mobility Score (MS) counts destinations accessible visa-free, visa-on-arrival, eTA, or fast eVisa (issued in under 3 working days). Excludes territories annexed to other countries — so its scores are lower than Henley's. Updates in real-time as policies change, not on a fixed schedule.
Africa Visa Openness Index
Measures how open African countries are to travelers from other African countries specifically — not global passport strength. Each African country is scored 0–1 based on its visa policy toward all other AU member states: visa-free scores 1.0, visa-on-arrival scores 0.5, and visa-required scores 0.