In light of the recent update to the Henley & Partners Passport Index, which measures the number of countries to which a passport enables visa-free travel, we review the data across emerging markets. Does 'passport power' correlate with income levels, as one might assume?
The answer is that the correlation is not as strong as one might expect. Notable discrepancies include South Korea versus Taiwan, the UAE versus Qatar, Brazil versus Mexico, Kenya versus Nigeria and India versus Pakistan.
Passport strength should help drive higher non-commodity export revenues because it makes it easier for company executives to market to international markets. Of course, there are a host of other factors that are almost certainly more important, such as labour costs, labour force education and skills, trade access and tariffs.
Passport strength, though, might help drive higher inward remittances for low income countries by easing international migration.
And it might be considered a reflection of a country's geopolitical leverage. But a strong passport obviously offers no protection from sovereign sanctions – just ask the Russian oligarchs!
