This is now the most powerful passport in the world

 

Collecting passports has become a status symbol for the super-rich— or those who simply love to travel. 

However, some are much more sought-after than others. 

And Singapore has been named as the country with the most powerful passport in the world in a new report. 

The 2017 Global Passport Power Rank, produced by advisory firm Arton Capital, put Singapore at the top of its list. 

It ranked all of the passports of the world by their "total visa-free score," where a point is given for each country that their holders can visit without a visa, with a visa on arrival, or using electronic travel authorisation. 

It gave Singapore a score of 159, meaning holders of a Singaporean passport can now easily visit 159 countries, either visa-free or by gaining a visa on arrival. 

According to CNN, the top ranking for Singapore is thanks to a recent decision by Paraguay to remove visa requirements for passport holders of the Asian city-state. 

Until this decision, Singapore was tied with Germany at 158. Germany now holds the spot for the second most powerful passport at 158, closely followed by Sweden and South Korea at 157. 

The United Kingdom got a score of 156, while the United States got 154. 

This is the first time an Asian country has had the most powerful passport in the world, according to Arton Capital. 

Meanwhile, the least mobile passport in the world is Afghanistan, with a score of 22, followed by Pakistan and Iraq at 26.