Pakistan passport falls nine places to 183rd in global ranking

Pakistan’s passport has fallen to 183rd place globally in 2026, reversing modest gains made over the previous two years, according to the latest Passport Reports ranking published by Gulf News. The Pakistani passport has a Mobility Score of 42, meaning its holders have access to 42 destinations through visa-free entry, visas on arrival and electronic travel authorisations (eTAs). However, only nine of those destinations offer completely visa-free access to Pakistani passport holders. Another 29 provide visas on arrival, while four allow entry through an eTA. Travellers must obtain a visa in advance for the remaining 156 destinations covered by the index. The nine visa-free destinations are Barbados, Dominica, The Gambia, Haiti, Micronesia, Rwanda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu. Pakistan’s latest ranking marks a sharp reversal from its recent improvement. The country was ranked 180th in 2023, 175th in 2024 and 174th in 2025 before dropping nine places to 183rd this year. Only Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan rank below Pakistan in the 2026 index. The passport’s Mobility Score has also declined. It rose from 36 in 2020 to 47 in 2023 and remained at 47 in 2024 before falling to 44 in 2025 and 42 in 2026. The latest nine-place drop is the largest year-on-year decline recorded in the seven-year period covered by the data. Despite the gains recorded between 2023 and 2025, Pakistan’s 2026 ranking is 14 places below its 2020 position of 169th. Its current Mobility Score, however, remains six points higher than the 2020 figure. Passport Reports measures mobility based on the number of destinations where travellers can enter without obtaining a conventional visa before departure. The report said visa-free travel is generally the strongest form of passport mobility. Visa-on-arrival allows travellers to avoid obtaining a visa before departure, but they must normally complete immigration procedures and meet the destination’s entry requirements on arrival. On the other hand, an eTA requires travellers to secure electronic authorisation before travelling and does not constitute visa-free entry. The latest figures indicate that Pakistan’s passport has lost ground in both its global ranking and Mobility Score compared with 2025.

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