Malaysian passport rated fifth most powerful in the world
THE STAR
PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian passport has visa-free access to 117 countries, making it the fifth most powerful passport in the world in Arton Capital's Passport Index.
Malaysia was ranked fifth alongside Ireland, Canada and New Zealand, with a shared accumulative Visa-Free Score (VFS) of 154.
Malaysian passport holders can enjoy visa-free access to 117 countries and visa on arrival privileges for 37 countries.
The VFS is calculated based on visa-free and visa on arrival privileges. The higher VFS score, the better global mobility the passport holder enjoys.
The number one most powerful passport in the world is Germany, with a VFS score of 158.
The German passport provides visa-free access to 124 countries and 34 visa on arrival countries.
Singapore and Sweden were ranked second with 157 VFS points.
In joint third place, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, United Kingdom and United States received a VFS score of 156.
Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal and Japan were jointly ranked fourth with 155 VFS points.
In the Asean region, the Brunei passport is ranked 20 and has a VFS score of 134.
Other countries like Thailand (ranked 58) has 70 VFS points, the Philippines (67) has 60 points, Indonesia (69) has 58 points, while Vietnam and Cambodia (79) have 48 points.
On the flip side, Afghanistan has the least powerful passport with just 23 VFS points.
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