The joint second-ranked countries are Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg and the US with a score of 172. Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands hold a joint third rank of 171, followed by Canada in fourth with 170, then Switzerland, Austria and New Zealand fifth with 168.
Australia is ranked equal sixth with Greece and Singapore with visa-free entry to 167 countries.
The worst passport, number 93 on the list, is from Afghanistan with a score of just 28, closely followed by Iraq (31), Somalia and Pakistan (32 each).Their lowly scores indicate their citizens have the least freedom of travel.
In addition, some countries such as Argentina charge Australians a reciprocity fee to enter the country. The $US100 fee has been imposed in response to Australia charging Argentine citizens to come here. Americans and Canadians are also slugged with a fee.
Meanwhile, India has announced it is looking to ease visa rules for more than 40 countries by issuing visas on arrival to boost its tourism industry.
Australia will be among the countries to benefit from the new rules, as well as the US, Britain, Canada, Brazil, France and Germany. India already issues visas on arrival to visitors from about a dozen countries, including New Zealand.
Best countries to have a passport from
1. UK, Finland, Sweden (number of visa-free countries 173)
2. Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, USA (172)
3. Belgium, Italy, Netherlands (171)
4. Canada, France, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Spain (170)
5. New Zealand, Switzerland, Austria (168)
6. Australia, Greece, Singapore (167)
7. South Korea (166)
8. Iceland (165)
9. Malaysia, Malta (163)
10. Liechtenstein (159)
... and the worst
Afghanistan (28)
Iraq (31)
Pakistan, Somalia (32) culled
