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Canada’s once-mighty passport has seen its wings clipped in a new survey of the world’s most powerful passports.
In 2022, the Canuck travel document ranked No. 26, but the latest compilation by Arton Capital puts it at a lowly 33rd.
If it’s any consolation, the U.S. passport fell to 38th spot, having been in the top 20 as recently as 2019. The U.K. (32nd), Australia (37th) and New Zealand (28th) also performed poorly.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), took top spot in the firm’s 2024 Passport Index, while Syria finished last at No. 199.
Standings are based in part on how many countries passport-holders can visit without a visa. On that basis, those living in the UAE can enter 133 countries without additional paperwork.
Europe dominated the global rankings, with Spain leapfrogging Germany (5th), as the second-most powerful passport in the world, while Finland edged ahead of France to take third place.
The top 10 was rounded out by Belgium (6th), Italy (7th), Denmark (8th), the Netherlands (9th), and Luxembourg (10th).
Arton Capital said the U.S. had the weakest passport in the G7, but the incoming administration of president-elect Donald Trump “has all the motivations to make the U.S. passport great again.”
The passport of its “greatest competitor,” China, was ranked at 110th in the power index.
Hrant Boghossian, co-founder of the ranking, said: “The World Openness Score remained flat this year – the post-COVID recovery jump we noticed in the past few years is truly over. Unsurprisingly, European passports are overwhelmingly the best ranked, ahead of larger economies like the United States and China.”
He added: “Geopolitical factors including elections and conflicts continue to influence global mobility. Despite this, we are still seeing countries collaborate and governments recognize the opportunities that visa-free agreements represent.”