PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian passport stands at joint 12th place in a global passport ranking, dropping one rank compared to the middle of last year despite recording a better score.
The Henley Passport Index’s 2024 rankings see the Malaysian passport standing at 12th place with Cyprus and Liechtenstein, with a “visa-free score” of 182.
The score is based on the number of destinations a certain passport holder can enter without requiring a visa before arrival. This means Malaysians have visa-free access to 182 of 227 travel destinations worldwide.
At the start of 2023, it ranked the 14th most powerful passport in the world with a score of 179. Six months later, it stood at 11th place, with a score of 180.
Some 35 countries ranked higher than Malaysia, with Singapore maintaining its spot in first place, shared with France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain.
South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are the other Asian countries that ranked ahead of Malaysia, standing at second and 11th place, respectively.
The index ranks all 199 passports of the world based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA), cross-checking each against all 227 travel destinations in the world, including those that do not issue their own passports.
For each travel destination that does not require a visa or can obtain an electronic travel authority (ETA) or visitor’s permit upon arrival, a passport’s mobility score increases by one.
However, destinations where visas are required, or need government approval for a visa on arrival, are not considered “visa-free” and do not contribute to the score.
