Japan has the world's most powerful passport, Serbia takes 40th place

The country with the world's most powerful passport in 2019 is Japan, CNN reports. That's the view of the Henley Passport Index, which periodically measures the access each country's travel document affords.

Japan retains its top spot as the world's most travel-friendly passport thanks to the document's access to 190 countries. The second place belongs to Singapore, followed by South Korea with 189. French and German passports provide access to 188 countries, followed by Denmark, Finland, Italy and Sweden with 187 and Luxembourg and Spain with 186. Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Great Britain and the USA also feature high on the list.

Serbia is 40th, and the Serbian passport provides access to 129 countries.

South Korea edged up the ranking from October's index to join Singapore, offering access to 189 jurisdictions, thanks to a new visa-on-arrival agreement with India. Elsewhere in the region, China jumped almost 20 places in just two years, from 85th in 2017 to 69th this year.

European countries also performed favorably, with European Union member states (along with Norway and the US) filling in the places behind the top three nations -- although the UK continues to drop down the rankings, along with the US.

Henley Passport Index

most powerful passport in the world

state with the most powerful passport in the world