The weakest passports in the world are the unwanted passports that nobody wants to see, and that few countries decide to tolerate. As a result, holders of these passports therefore have access to few countries, as against those with stronger passports who have access to many countries just by flashing their passports.
Poverty, poor foreign policy management, and a record of criminal behavior are just some of the possible reasons why countries may have poor passports.
With time poor passports may become strong if the above mentioned factors are improved.
Top 100 Weakest Passports In The World
1. Afghanistan
Afghanistan is the country with the weakest passport in the world at the moment, not because of its physical appearance. Afghanistan is beset by a lot of social issues, and is generally seen as an extremist country.
This has not been helped by the fact that the country has recently been involved in a long and bloody war, which has damaged the fabric of the society.
Nevertheless, the Afghanistan passport gets visa free entry to 27 countries, and most of them are close to its borders or within its region. Afghanistan needs to build diplomatic relations with other countries so as to improve the strength of its passport-although that may not be a priority at the moment.
2. Iraq
The Iraqi passport gets visa free entry into 29 countries, which pins it near the bottom of the passport strength index. The countries that offer such access are mostly near its borders, and its region.
This country also gets a lot of bad publicity in the media; it is largely seen as an extremist country, for the fact that extremist groups operate there. More to the fact; Iraq was hit by a war which virtually destroyed all the infrastructure, and put the country under intense social pressure.
It is for these reasons that the Iraqi passport is so weak. It may take some time for the Iraqi government to build diplomatic relations with countries beyond its region because there are many other social issues that need to be fixed.
3. Syria
The Syrian passport gets visa free entry to 30 countries. While that may seem quite poor, another view is that this is quite impressive because of the ongoing war in the country, which has severely damaged the economy and social outlook of the country.
Syria also suffers various types of sanctions and restrictions from the western powers, which in turn add to the economic crisis in the country.
Nevertheless, with some diplomatic work, the country can see its passport rise in importance, which will enable its citizens to reach greater potential in terms of business and commerce. The first move will be to negotiate the relaxation of these crippling sanctions so that the country can once again breathe freely.
4. Pakistan
Pakistan’s passport gets visa free entry into 30 countries, and that is the lowest in the whole of Western Asia. Pakistan is not quite at peace with its neighbors; perhaps that is one of the reasons why its passport is so low on the index.
It has no bilateral relations with many of its nearby nations, thus reducing the number of countries which its passport holders can visit without visas.
The issues are quite contentious; it seems quite unlikely that they will be resolved soon, and that Pakistan will resume diplomatic ties with its neighbors.
Pakistan has quite a lot of potential; economically and militarily; therefore there is plenty of reason why countries should want to have friendly relations with Pakistan.
5. Yemen
The Yemeni passport gets visa free entry into 34 countries. This is quite interesting considering the fact that it is not a very popular country.
Yemen is considered an extremist country in many parts of the western world; this is because of the several terrorist groups that are known to have strongholds in the country. Yemen is also a country that has suffered a recent war; which some sources classify as ongoing. As a result there has been a social and economic stalemate; which means that most Yemenis are poor, and have very little interest in tourism.
Furthermore, there are no bilateral relations with many countries; which means that Yemen has a lot of work to do if its passport status is to improve.
6. Somalia
Somalia’s passport gets visa free entry into 35 countries. Rather than conclude that the passport is too poor, or too weak; one must consider the fact the country has done quite well in terms of diplomatic ties in order to earn this kind of recognition; the country has been through a lot in recent years.
Somalia has never actually been a peaceful country; since the 1980’s it has seen one war after another; with the most recent one ongoing since 2009. To further compound Somalia’s woes, the war has created such a bleak economic outlook that has pushed many people into crime.
One crime that has flourished in Somalia is piracy; Somalian pirates have terrorized the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, and the Somali Sea. These pirates have painted the country black, and as a result it is quite strange that the country has so many countries that respect its passport.
7. Nepal
The Nepalese Passport gets visa free access to 36 countries. That figure may not be impressive but it shows that the country has some diplomatic potential, and that it can do much more with time, despite its problems.
Nepal is a country in south Asia; its problem is mostly poverty. With such a poor population, the people have little or no interest in tourism, and as a result the countries that usually allow visa free access for tourism purposes have little reason to grant such a status to Nepalese visa holders.
There is much potential for tourism in this country; it has some of the tallest peaks in the world. Therefore the country needs to do more to become more accessible, and to make its passport more acceptable.
8. Palestine
Palestine’s passport gets visa free access to 38 countries. Palestine’s diplomatic status can be said to be borderline; it has some diplomatic ties with countries in Eastern Europe; but mostly it is not perceived as very friendly with western powers.
The ever-present conflict with Israel may be a factor; Palestine is often seen as an enemy of the west, which is because Israel is a friend to many western nations. Furthermore, there is quite a lot militancy in Palestine, and this may pose a security threat to other countries.
Palestine is an Arab country in western Asia. It is a very significant country in terms of culture; it is the birthplace of both Christianity and Judaism.
9. Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s passport gets visa free access to 40 countries. It is one of the less significant passports in south Asia; despite being one of the biggest countries in the world in terms of population.
Bangladesh has a problem of poverty; about 20 percent of its population is said to be living in extreme poverty. Such poverty is a symptom of greater social issues; inequality and poor justice system, which in turn breeds crime and a lack of a sense of belonging among the citizens.
It is to avoid contact with these social problems that many countries have avoided giving a visa free status to the Bangladeshi passport.
10. Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka passport is considered a weak passport; it gets visa free entry into 40 countries, with most of them being around its region. The country is an island located in the Indian Ocean; it is geographically part of south Asia.
Sri Lanka is not a particularly poor country; and even in terms of human development, literacy, and life expectancy the country does not perform poorly either.
Sri Lanka’s lack of passport strength can therefore be traced to a lack of good diplomatic ties with nations of the world. However, with a robust tourism industry, Sri Lanka gets visitors from all over the world.
The following is a more extensive list of the weakest passports in the world.
| Rank | Country | Visa free entry | Location |
| 1 | Afghanistan | 27 | Asia |
| 2 | Iraq | 29 | Asia |
| 3 | Syria | 30 | Asia |
| 4 | Pakistan | 30 | Western Asia |
| 5 | Yemen | 34 | Asia |
| 6 | Somalia | 35 | East Africa |
| 7 | Nepal | 36 | Asia |
| 8 | Palestine | 38 | Asia |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 39 | Asia |
| 10 | Sri Lanka | 40 | South Asia |
| 11 | North Korea | 40 | Asia |
| 12 | Libya | 40 | North Africa |
| 13 | Lebanon | 41 | Middle east |
| 14 | Kosovo | 41 | Southeast Europe |
| 15 | Sudan | 42 | Africa |
| 16 | DR Congo | 42 | Central Africa |
| 17 | Iran | 44 | Middle east |
| 18 | South Sudan | 45 | East Africa |
| 19 | Nigeria | 45 | West Africa |
| 20 | Eritrea | 45 | East Africa |
| 21 | Ethiopia | 46 | East Africa |
| 22 | Myanmar | 47 | Southeast Asia |
| 23 | Haiti | 48 | Caribbean |
| 24 | Djibouti | 48 | East Africa |
| 25 | Liberia | 49 | West Africa |
| 26 | Congo | 49 | Central Africa |
| 27 | Laos | 50 | Southeast Asia |
| 28 | Cameroon | 50 | Central Africa |
| 29 | Burundi | 50 | Africa |
| 30 | Angola | 50 | Southern Africa |
| 31 | Turkmenistan | 52 | Central Asia |
| 32 | Guinea-Bissau | 52 | West Africa |
| 33 | Egypt | 52 | North Africa |
| 34 | Chad | 52 | South Asia |
| 35 | Central African Republic | 52 | Central Africa |
| 36 | Bhutan | 52 | South Asia |
| 37 | Niger | 53 | West Africa |
| 38 | Bhutan | 52 | South Asia |
| 39 | Mali | 53 | West Africa |
| 40 | Jordan | 53 | Middle east |
| 41 | Comoros | 53 | East Africa |
| 42 | Togo | 54 | West Africa |
| 43 | Cambodia | 54 | Southeast Asia |
| 44 | Algeria | 54 | North Africa |
| 45 | Vietnam | 55 | South Asia |
| 46 | Madagascar | 55 | East Africa |
| 47 | Guinea | 55 | Africa |
| 48 | Equatorial Guinea | 55 | Central Africa |
| 59 | Senegal | 56 | West Africa |
| 60 | Ivory Coast | 56 | West Africa |
| 61 | Gabon | 56 | Central Africa |
| 62 | Burkina Faso | 57 | West Africa |
| 63 | Mauritania | 58 | Northwest Africa |
| 64 | Uzbekistan | 59 | Central Asia |
| 65 | Tajikistan | 59 | Central Asia |
| 66 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 59 | Central Africa |
| 67 | Benin | 60 | West Africa |
| 68 | Rwanda | 61 | East Africa |
| 69 | Mozambique | 61 | Southeast Africa |
| 70 | Mongolia | 61 | Asia |
| 71 | Cuba | 62 | Caribbean |
| 72 | Kyrgyzstan | 63 | Central Asia |
| 73 | Ghana | 63 | West Africa |
| 74 | Sierra Leone | 65 | West Africa |
| 75 | Morocco | 65 | North Africa |
| 76 | Cape Verde | 65 | West Africa |
| 77 | Armenia | 65 | Europe |
| 78 | India | 60 | Asia |
| 79 | Zimbabwe | 66 | Southern Africa |
| 80 | Philippines | 66 | Asia |
| 81 | Uganda | 67 | East Africa |
| 82 | Gambia | 69 | West Africa |
| 83 | Dominican Republic | 69 | Caribbean |
| 84 | Azerbaijan | 69 | Western Asia |
| 85 | Zambia | 70 | Southeastern Africa |
| 86 | Tunisia | 70 | North Africa |
| 87 | Indonesia | 70 | Southeast Asia |
| 88 | Tanzania | 72 | East Africa |
| 89 | Kenya | 73 | East Africa |
| 90 | Malawi | 74 | East Africa |
| 91 | Eswatini | 75 | Southern Africa |
| 92 | Kazakhstan | 76 | Central Asia |
| 93 | Suriname | 77 | Americas |
| 94 | Namibia | 78 | Southern Africa |
| 95 | Lesotho | 78 | Southern Africa |
| 96 | Bolivia | 78 | Americas |
| 97 | Belarus | 79 | Eastern Europe |
| 98 | Thailand | 80 | Southeast Asia |
| 99 | China | 80 | Southeast Asia |
| 100 | Papua New Guinea | 82 | Oceania |
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Closing
The weakest passports in the world mostly belong to the poorest countries in the world. The only difference is for the few countries with closed societies and protectionist economies which prefer not to have much to do with other countries.
Visas are a revenue generating resource; therefore countries that allow other nationalities without them most make up for the revenue loss in other ways- mostly through tourism. In most cases they make their doors open to people from almost every country; the exception being those countries that they see as security risks; or those whose nationals are known to behave badly.