The world's most powerful passport and how we compare

Australia's passport will get you visa-free access to 185 countries. (Source: Getty)

Japan has held onto its title of having the most powerful passport in the world for the fifth year in a row.

Holders of a Japanese passport can get entry to 193 countries, according to the office Henley Passport Index.

The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.

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Australia is tied for eighth on the list - along with Canada, Czech Republic, Greece and Malta - gaining access to 185 countries.

The top 10 most powerful passports in the world and how many countries they can access visa-free are:

1. Japan - 193

2. South Korea and Singapore - 192

3. Germany and Spain - 190

4. Finland, Italy and Luxembourg - 189

5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden - 188

6. France, Ireland, Portugal and the UK - 187

7. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the US - 186

8. Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece and Malta - 185

9. Hungary - 183

10. Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia - 182

While these passports all allow fairly accessible travel around the world, on the flipside many other passport holders will be severely limited.

The Afghanistan passport has ranked at the bottom of the list again, a position it has held for more than a decade.

The 10 least powerful passports in the world and how many countries they can access are:

1. Afghanistan - 27

2. Iraq - 29

3. Syria - 30

4. Pakistan - 32

5. Yemen - 34

6. Somalia - 35

7. Palestine and Nepal - 38

8. North Korea - 40

9. Libya, Kosovo and Bangladesh - 41

10. Sudan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Congo - 42

The index and its contents are based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and supplemented, enhanced, and updated using extensive in-house research and open-source online data.

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