It's good to be a Canadian traveller in 2018 — according to a new ranking by Henley & Partners, the Canadian passport is one of the most powerful to own in world, as it lends travellers visa-free access to several countries around the world.

The rankings are based on the abilility of citizens to travel to other countries without having to go through rigorous visa processes. The more countries the passport holder has visa-free access to, the more powerful that passport is.

That said, Canada ranks 5th alongside Belgium, Ireland and Switzerland, which all give visa-free access to 185 destinations. The #1 spot is claimed by Singapore and Japan, which has dethroned Germany with their visa-free access to 189 destinations.

Other countries that made the top 5 include:

Finland, France, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Denmark (3rd place, 187 destinations)

Austria, Luxembourg Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, UK, USA (4th place, 186 destinations)

The fastest-growing passports are those from Ukraine, Georgia and the United Arab Emirates, which have all moved up significantly in the ranking compared to previous years.

Ukraine rose 20 places to the 38th rank, allowing visa-free access to 128 destinations. Georgia also rose 20 places, now sitting at the 48th rank and allowing visa-free accesss to 112 countries. The UAE rose to the 21st rank, with visa-free access to 159 destinations.

The least powerful passports were all from Middle Eastern nations which have the tightest regulations:

You can view the full ranking of countries here.

Source