IT’S no secret that Irish passports have been in high demand since the Brexit referendum – and it turns out that ours is one of the most ‘powerful’ worldwide.
According to new Passport Index statistics, Irish passport holders should be making doubly sure they don’t lose their special little document anytime soon.
That's because Irish passports rank sixth place in the world thanks to their ability to access 154 of the 193 United Nations member states – as well as the Vatican, Palestinian Territory, Kosovo, Macao and Taiwan.
Sharing sixth place with Ireland are Malaysia, Canada and none other than the United States – with the UK slightly ahead in 4th place.
Top of the Index is Singapore, above second placed Germany as well as Sweden and South Korea who share third.
Singaporeans have Paraguay to thank for their rise to the top of the pile, after the South American country recently removed visa requirements for their citizens.
It also appears that the power of the US passport has dwindled somewhat since Turkey and the Central African Republic revoked their visa-free status in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as President.
The Passport Index ranks national passports based on their ‘visa-free score’ – which takes into account the number of nations a holder can visit visa-free or with visa on arrival.
You can click here to see the full rankings, but we’ve ranked the 25 most powerful passports to make things a little easier for you.
See the new Top 25 Passport Power Rankings below…
1. Singapore
2. Germany
3. Sweden, South Korea
4. UK, Denmark, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Japan
5. Luxembourg, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Portugal
6. Ireland, Malaysia, Canada, USA
7. Australia, New Zealand, Greece
8. Malta, Czech Republic, Iceland
9. Hungary
10. Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia
11. Estonia
12. Liechtenstein
13. Cyprus
14. Croatia, Brazil
15. Romania, Bulgaria, Chile, Monaco, Argentina
16. Hong Kong
17. San Marino
18. Andorra
19. Israel
20. Barbados
21. Brunei
22. Mexico
23. Bahamas
24. Seychelles, Vatican City
25. Uruguay
