Rabat – Morocco ranks 138 out of 199 countries for passport power, it was revealed in the 2017 Passport Index.
The Index shows that the kingdom is the 19th most powerful in Africa, less strong than countries including Tunisia, Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Morocco’s position at number 138 resulted from not needing a visa to enter 57 countries. These include: Algeria, Belize, Brazil, Equador, Grenada, Haiti, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Tunisia and Turkey.
Countries that require Moroccan passport holders to obtain a visa in order to access their land include all the European countries, Gulf countries, Egypt, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Jamaica and Nigeria.
Morocco shared its position at number 138 with Benin, China and Sao Tome and Principe.
The Index shows that Morocco gained three visa waivers in 2017, compared to the Visa Index 2016. In 2015, Morocco had access to 58 countries without visa requirements.
In terms of the MENA region, Morocco came ninth, while Israel topped the list as being the most powerful. After Israel, the most powerful countries in the MENA region are, in order: the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
Morocco came second in the North Africa region. Tunisia came first, having access to 62 countries. Mauritania ranked third with 54 free visa countries, followed by Egypt with 50 countries, Algeria with 46 countries, Libya with 37 countries and Sudan to 36 countries.
Out of 199 countries, Morocco imposes a visa on 129 countries, including Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt and Dominican Republic.
Germany is the most powerful passport in the world with access to 158 countries, followed by Singapore, whicg also has access to 158 countries. Sweden came third, South Korea fourth and Denmark fifth.
The stark differences between the world’s most powerful and least powerful passport were revealed by the global financial firm Arton Capital, which gathered data from 193 countries to generate this year’s Passport Index. The Index ranks world nations on the basis of the number countries where their citizens can go without requiring a visa in advance or on arrival.
