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Bahrain’s passport has emerged as fifth across the Arab world in terms of the number of visa-free access to countries, according to a report.
The 2026 Henley Passport Index report, covering 199 countries, assesses the travel documents based on how many countries citizens can access without a visa, using information from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The index is compiled by Henley and Partners – a global leader in residence and citizenship by investment.
“The Henley Passport Index is the original and most authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa,” the firm added.
“The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, giving users the most extensive and reliable information about their global access and mobility.”
Overall, Bahrain ranks 55th internationally, with visa-free access to 87 countries, including GCC countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Botswana, Cambodia, Georgia, South Korea, Morocco, the Philippines, Thailand, Zanzibar and New Zealand, among others.
Last year, the kingdom was ranked 58th internationally and tied for fourth in the Arab world with Saudi Arabia.
In 2023, the kingdom unveiled its first-ever ePassport featuring design and security features that reflect the country’s heritage.
It was the first passport in the world to feature a hashtag: #teambahrain.
For its unique design, it went on to win 13 international awards, including the ‘Best New Passport Award for 2024’ in Europe, the Middle East and Africa within the High Security Print (HSP) as well as the ‘Red Dot Design Award 2024’.
It also brought home 10 honours at the London Design Awards.
In the Henley Passport Index 2026, the UAE remains the top ranked passport amongst Arab countries and fifth globally, allowing its passport holders free-visa access to 175 countries, followed by Qatar with visa-free travel to 111 destinations.
“With historical data spanning 20 years and regularly updated expert analysis on the latest shifts in passport power, the index is an invaluable resource for global citizens and the standard reference tool for government policy in this field,” Henley and Partners noted, in a statement.
Amongst Arab countries, Kuwait was third with visa-free access to 96 countries, followed by Saudi Arabia (88).
Oman ranked sixth in the region with visa-free entry to 85 destinations.
Interestingly, the top three passports in the world were from Asia – with Singapore (192), Japan (188) and South Korea (188) topping the index.
Tied for next place internationally were Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, each providing their citizens with easy access to 186 countries, without a prior visa.
The UK was ranked seventh, while the US was 10th, with their citizens able to visit 182 and 179 countries without a visa, respectively.
Afghanistan has the lowest-ranked passport in the world, according to the index, with visa-free access to just 24 countries.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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