Sri Lankan passport ranked 99th among 106 countries

Sri Lanka has been ranked at the 99th position along with Ethiopia and North Korea in the Henley Passport Index among 106 countries, according to the number of countries their holders can travel visa-free, Henley & Partners, a residence and citizenship advisory firm, announced in a media release this week.
The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, and is enhanced by extensive in-house research.
The index is updated in real-time, as and when visa-policy changes come into effect. With the Henley Passport Index, air passengers can assess where they lie on the spectrum of global mobility and discover how to maximise their travel freedom through citizenship-by-investment, the release revealed.
Japan has overtaken Singapore as the world's strongest passport, climbing to top position on the 2018 Henley Passport Index.
After gaining visa-free access to Myanmar earlier this month, Japan now enjoys visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 190 destinations, compared to Singapore’s total of 189, pushing Singapore into second place on the index.
This quarter, Germany fell from its previous second place ranking, sharing third place with South Korea and France. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden and Spain all came in joint-fourth, with 187 destinations accessible to their citizens.
Meanwhile, the US and the UK slid down a spot from fourth to fifth place. (Bandula)