German passport most desirable for travellers

Passports please: the German Reisepass tops the list of world's most powerful passports. Photo / Getty

For the second year in a row the German passport has been declared the world's most powerful passport.

The Telegraph revealed the good news for German tourists in a list of the most and least desirable passports, based on data from Henley & Partners citezenship and planning firm.

The rankings take into account the number of countries a passport holder can enter visa-free. This boosts German citizens to the top of the list, opening doors in 177 countries out of a possible 218.

A black New Zealand passport will only grant access to 171, putting it at the 22nd most desiarable for travellers.

Top 10 most desirable passports

1 Germany

177

2 Singapore

176

=3 Denmark

175

=3 Finland

175

=3 France

175

=3 Italy

175

=3 Japan

175

=3 Norway

175

=3 Sweden

175

=3 UK

175

At the back of the queue the rankings placed Afghan, Iraqi and Syrian passports as the least helpful, allowing visa-free entry to only 24, 27 and 28 countries respectively.

10 least powerful passports

Afghanistan

24

Iraq

27

Syria

28

Pakistan

30

Somalia

32

Yemen

35

Nepal

36

Libya

36

Palestinian Territories

37

Eritrea

37

Lebanon

38

While holders of these passports have a more difficult time travelling the overall trend shows that the world is opening up to more visa-free travel. Over the last year 143 countries saw their passports increase in power, while only seven countries saw their access reduced.