New Delhi: Ever wondered how many countries the Indian passport will let you travel to without a visa? Fifty nine countries, it is.
Yes, you read that right. If you hold an Indian passport, you can travel to 59 countries without a visa (or with a visa on arrival).
Global financial advisory firm Arton Capital recently put together a ranking of how powerful a nation’s passport is. The more the countries a passport allows you to visit without a visa the more powerful it is said to be.
While the US and the UK top the list with the most powerful passports enabling access to 147 countries without visa, India stands somewhere midway at 59 countries. France, Germany and South Korea were close behind in second place with 145 countries accessible to their citizens minus a prior visa.
South Korea is thus the top Asian country on the list. Japan and Singapore follow in fourth place. The top Latin American country is Argentina and the top African country is Seychelles.
The power index of a passport is highly dependent on the nation’s ranking on the international scene, in terms of trade, power, GDP, etc.
Here are the countries your Indian passport enables you to visit without a visa (or with a visa on arrival):
1. Bhutan
2. Hong Kong
3. Thailand
4. South Korea (Jeju)
5. Macau
6. Nepal
7. Antarctica
8. Seychelles
9. FYRO Macedonia
10. Svalbard
11. Dominica
12. Grenada
13. Haiti
14. Jamaica
15. Montserrat
16. St. Kitts & Nevis
17. St. Vincent & Grenadines
18. Trinidad & Tobago
19. Turks & Caicos Islands
20. British Virgin Islands
21. El Salvador
22. Ecuador
23. Cook Islands
24. Fiji
25. Micronesia
26. Niue
27. Samoa
28. Vanuatu
29. Cambodia
30. Indonesia
31. Laos
32. Zimbabwe
33. Timor Leste
34. Iraq (Basra)
35. Jordan
36. Comoros Is.
37. Maldives
38. Mauritius
39. Cape Verde
40. Djibouti
41. Ethiopia
42. Gambia
43. Guinea-Bissau
44. Kenya
45. Madagascar
46. Mozambique
47. Sao Tome & Principe
48. Tanzania
49. Togo
50. Uganda
51. Georgia
52. Tajikistan
53. St. Lucia
54. Nicaragua
55. Bolivia
56. Guyana
57. Nauru
58. Palau
59. Tuvalu
Meanwhile, there are a few other disputed islands and regions which do not require a visa or have visa on arrival facilities too!