Canada Fell In A New Ranking Of The World's Most Powerful Passports & Here's What That Means

A new ranking of the world's most powerful passports has been released, and the Canadian passport has dropped down the list.

Arton Capital's Passport Index has unveiled the most powerful passports of 2023, ranking the passports that allow holders to visit the most countries visa-free.

While Canada's passport continues to rank highly, the 2023 data shows that it is not as strong as it was in previous years as other countries more proactively sought to enhance their citizens' mobility by signing visa-free agreements.

The Passport Index ranks passports based on their mobility score, aka the total number of countries a passport holder can access that are visa-free, grant visas on arrival, use Electronic Travel Authorization or issue an e-visa within three days.

The higher the mobility score, the more countries a passport holder can visit seamlessly.

For 2023, Canada's passport ranks in the seventh spot globally with a mobility score of 173. This means that holders of a Canadian passport can travel to 117 countries visa-free, 49 countries where a visa is provided on arrival, and seven countries requiring an Electronic Travel Authorization.

The passport ranks alongside those of Malta, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia, which also all have mobility scores of 173.

However, this is a drop in ranking from 2022, when Canada's global passport power rank was fourth along with Japan, Greece, Australia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

While Canada's passport didn't exactly get weaker itself (it gained one point in mobility between 2022 and 2023), the rise in mobility of other countries' passports seems to have knocked Canada down in the ranking.

For instance, Japan, which in 2022 had the same score as Canada, had a mobility score of 175 at the end of 2023, a rise of three points. Australia, which also shared a spot with Canada in 2022, rose from 172 to 174, also overtaking Canada.

The most powerful passport in the world, according to the latest ranking, is that of the United Arab Emirates, which has a mobility score of 180 and allows holders to travel to 124 countries visa-free.

While the Canadian passport may have lost some strength in comparison to other countries, it still managed to rank within the top 10 highest scores.

And its mobility isn't the only thing to be proud of — Canada's passport has also been named one of the most beautiful in the world thanks to a unique feature hidden within its pages (hint: you'll need a UV light to see it for yourself!).

Last year, officials unveiled a whole new design for the Canadian passport with several new elements and security features, including a brand-new cover.