BD passport least ‘powerful’

The Bangladesh passport is one of the least powerful ones in the world as its holders could travel only 37 countries without visa or visa on arrival.
The list of the Global Passport Power Rank, prepared by Arton Capital, a global financial advisory firm, put Bangladesh at 90th position along with Palestine and Libya.
And the Individual Passport Power Rank of Bangladesh is 189 among 199 countries considered for the index, according to the report released Tuesday.
A passport's power is an important aspect of a person's international travelling experience as it determines which countries its holder can visit with or without a visa, or whether the traveller can at least obtain a visa on arrival.
The 2016 list named the German passport as the most powerful in the world, as its holders are able to visit 158 countries without a visa, or get a visa on arrival.
The passport of Bangladesh is less powerful than that of Nepal, Bhutan or Sri Lanka.
In South Asia, only Pakistan (94th) and Afghanistan (95th) lay behind Bangladesh while the Maldives passport appeared as the most powerful in the region as it ranked 55th.
India and Bhutan both ranked 78th followed by Nepal (87th) and Sri Lanka (88th).
The Swedish passport follows closely on the list with 157 visa-free or visa on arrival privileges, followed by Finland, France, Switzerland, Spain, South Korea and the United Kingdom with 156.
"Many people around the world consider their passport to be a barrier to their opportunities in life and choose to empower their identity and global footprint by obtaining a second citizenship through investment," the president of Arton Capital said in a statement.
The list also made a Welcoming Countries Rank, which reveals country rankings in terms of granting visa-free or visa on arrival privileges to other countries.
In this measure, Bangladesh is a quite welcoming country with 16th position in the list as it offers passport holders from 174 countries visa on arrival or visa-free entry.
Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mozambique, Samoa, Seychelles, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu and Uganda topped the list together as the countries grant visa-free or visa on arrival to up to 198 other countries.
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