Best value for money passport goes to the United Arab Emirates with a cost of just AED50 ($13.61) and a mobility score of 162
The UAE passport has been named the best value for money in the world.Research from travel website ParkSleepFly analysed the cost of a passport in 48 countries around the world.It looked at the ‘power’ each country’s passport holds, to reveal the best value for money passports around the world.The best value for money passport went to the United Arab Emirates with a cost of just AED50 ($13.61) and a mobility score of 162.
An Emirati passport give its holder the greatest freedom with the ability to travel to 110 countries visa-free and a further 52 with a visa on arrival. This gives it a 162 mobility score.
Sweden has the second-best value for money passport, costing $42.47, with a mobility score of 159.
Part of the European Union, as well as the Nordic Passport Union, Sweden’s passport holders can enter 115 countries visa-free – more than any other nationality. They can visit a further 44 countries with a visa on arrival.
South Korea is the world’s third-best value for money passport costing $43.21 with a mobility score of 158. The South Korean passport allows you to enter 114 countries without a visa and a further 44 with a visa on arrival.
A United Kingdom passport comes in 35th while a US one ranks 37th.
For the worst value passports in the world, those issued in Mexico, Liechenstein and San Marino ranked as the worst value among the 48 countries surveyed.
Mexico scored the lowest ranking for the number of countries Mexican passport holders can a visa-free entry with a total of 97.
Many countries have now started issuing electric passports (or e-passports) which contain an electronic microprocessor chip with data such as fingerprints photos and signatures.
These biometric passports are scanned through special devices and are more effective against passport fraud than traditional ones. They are also designed to speed up passport checkpoints.
The UAE’s Ministry of Interior has started issuing machine-readable e-passports for citizens.