If there is one country that has successfully come out on top of the Coronavirus battle, it has to be New Zealand. The country was one of the first few nations to completely eliminate COVID-19 from its borders, and now New Zealand has the most powerful passport in the world. By Amitha Ameen
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The results were announced by the Passport Index who ranked 193 United Nations member countries, and the ranking was based on how many countries allow visa-free access to the nations or allowed visitors to obtain a visa on arrival. New Zealand was previously tied at the top with Japan, but a recent ranking showed that NZ now solely has the most powerful passport in the world.
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New Zealand won the top spot with 129 countries and was followed by Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, South Korea, Japan, and Australia, all of whom scored 128. In third place were countries Sweden, Belgium, France, Finland, Italy, and Spain whereas the fourth place was jointly held by countries like Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Lithuania, Norway, Iceland, and Canada.
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As the most powerful passport in the world, New Zealand has visa-free access or visa-on-arrival in 129 countries. The number is lesser than 2019’s total of 169 but 80 more than what it was during the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“New Zealand’s excellent handling of the Covid-19 crisis is reflected in its citizens quickly being accepted to travel to other nations,” said Hrant Boghossian, from Passport Index (as reported on Stuff).
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One of the most notably absent countries from the top 10 on the list happens to be the US, whose numbers have drastically slipped due to the poor handling of COVID-19 bringing it to the 21st place jointly held with Malaysia. Both countries have visa-free access to 52 countries and visa-on-arrival in 40 destinations.
India is at the 58th place along with other countries including Benin, Gabon, Jordan, Algeria, and currently, has visa-free access to 18 countries, and visa-on-arrival in 34 countries.
Related: 8 Stargazing Locations In New Zealand That You Have Never Heard Of Before!
