The Republic of China passport, which grants holders visa-free access to 134 countries, is placed 32nd on this year’s Henley Passport Index, previously known as the Visa Restrictions Index, which annually ranks passports according to the travel freedom their holders enjoy.
Germany was ranked at the top in the survey published on Tuesday by residence and citizenship planning company Henly & Partners.
German passport holders can travel visa-free to 177 out of 218 countries and territories in the world, making their travel document the winner for the fifth year in a row.
Taiwan’s rank means a drop of one place from last year. However, because of the way that the data are collated, passports from 58 other countries appear above Taiwan’s in the rankings.
The nation ties with Mauritius with visa-free access to 134 countries.
Top-ranked countries were Singapore at No. 2, with access to 176 countries; Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the UK, which tied at No. 3 with access to 175; and the US and South Korea at No. 5 with access to 173.
The firm has compiled the index annually since 2006 from data provided by the International Air Transport Association.
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