The UAE passport is now the 12th most powerful passport in the world and the strongest in the region, after its international ranking improved three positions.
According Henley Passport Index on Tuesday, holders of the UAE passport can now visit 179 countries without obtaining a visa before flights up from 178 countries at the end of last year.
“The UAE has added an impressive 107 destinations to its visa-free score since 2013, resulting in a massive leap of 44 places in the ranking over the past 10 years from 56th to 12th position.” said Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index.
The latest ranking by Henley and Partners is based on official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Qatar is the second strongest passport in the GCC region and the 52nd globally, followed by Kuwait (54), Bahrain (59), Oman (60) and Saudi Arabia (61).
