Hong Kong passport is now the world’s 13th most powerful, according to Arton Capital’s global index
- Hongkongers can visit 150 countries without having to get a visa in advance
- The United Arab Emirates moved to No 1 in this year’s rankings, ahead of Singapore and South Korea
Hongkongers hold the world’s 13th most powerful passport, up five places from its position last year on an index gauging the “power” of passports of various countries and territories, made available this week.
Within Asia, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport was placed sixth, according to the report. It was behind those from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – which was also the world number one in the 2018 index – Singapore and South Korea, which were ranked second and third in Asia.
Singaporean and German passports shared the number two spot on the world’s list in 2018.
The Hong Kong passport was ranked 18th in the 2017 index.
The index, compiled by the Canada-based global financial advisory firm Arton Capital, ranks the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six other territories by counting the number of countries each passport can access without an advance visa. The six territories include Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Kosovo, the Palestinian Territories and the Vatican.