Malaysia has the world's 13th strongest passport, down 4 spots from 2018

Malaysians hold the 13th strongest passport in the world, with the freedom to visit 177 countries without a visa, and for visa-on-arrival access, according to the latest Henley Passport Index. However, the country has dropped four places from 9th in 2018, with three less countries to visit visa-free.

Taking the spot for the strongest passport in the world are three countries - Japan, Singapore, and South Korea - tied at the top with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 189.

Globally, these are the top 10 countries with the strongest passports:

1st place (189 countries) Japan Singapore South Korea

2nd place (188 countries) Germany

3rd place (187 countries) Denmark Finland France Italy Sweden

4th place (186 countries) Luxembourg Spain

5th place (185 countries) Austria Netherlands Norway Portugal Switzerland United Kingdom

6th place (184 countries) Belgium Canada Greece Ireland US

7th place (183 countries) Czech Republic

8th place (182 countries) Malta

10th place, (180 countries) Hungary Latvia Lithuania Slovakia Slovenia

How to interpret the score: For each travel destination, if no visa is required (or if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority), then a score of 1 is assigned. Where a visa is required, or where a passport holder has to obtain a government-approved e-Visa (or pre-departure government approval for a visa on arrival), a score of 0 is assigned.

The total score for each passport is equal to the number of destinations for which no visa is required (value = 1), under the conditions defined above. Essentially, the score defines the 'visa-free/visa-on arrival countries' that passport holder has access to.

In Asia Pacific region, here are the notable passports (global ranking before bracket):

• Australia and New Zealand: 9th place (181 countries)
• Hong Kong (SAR China): 19th place (169 countries)
• Brunei: 21st place (165 countries)
• Taiwan: 29th place (148 countries)
• Macao (SAR China): 33rd place (142 countries)
• India: 80th place (60 countries)

View the full rankings here.