Pakistan’s passport ranking has improved on the Henley Index in 2026, rising from 103 in 2025 to 98 this year, according to figures released on Thursday.

According to the latest rankings, Pakistan’s travel document was placed 98th on the list, tied with Yemen.

It ranked higher than Iraq (99), Syria (100) and Afghanistan (101).

The ranking showed that Pakistan’s passport allows visa-free access to 31 countries, including visa-on-arrival (VOA).

Singapore ranked the highest, with visa-free access to 192 countries, followed closely by Japan and South Korea with 188.

Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland tied for the third spot with visa-free access to 186 countries.

According to the Henley Index, Pakistani passport holders have free visa access to Barbados, Cook Islands, Dominica, Haiti, Micronesia, Montserrat, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu.

While a visa-on-arrival was available for Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde Islands, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Nepal, Niue, Palau Islands, Qatar, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu.

Pakistani passport holders can also avail an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for Kenya, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi took to X and hailed the development.

He termed it a “strong achievement” and vowed that the “momentum will continue”.

Last year in October, the Pakistani passport ranked the fourth worst for the fifth straight year, with a ranking of 103.

Pakistan’s passport has been declared the world’s fourth-worst since at least 2021 on the Henley index, which calculates countries’ “visa-free score” — the number of destinations travellers can access without a prior visa, or with a visa on arrival.

The travel document was ranked 100th in 2024 and 2023, 109th in 2022 — when it allowed entry into 32 countries without a prior visa — and 107th in 2021 with the same visa-free score.