Given the aul history of our diaspora, how much we love to go on holiyears, and our big tradition of heading Stateside or Down Under for work or pleasure, it’s clear that the Irish love to travel and see the world.
Well you’ll be happy to know that having an Irish passport gives you ample opportunities to do just that.
According to the Passport Index (via travelandleaisure.com), Ireland is one of the top 25 most powerful passports in the world.
The Irish passport has a visa-free score of 153, meaning passport holders can visit 153 countries worldwide without a visa. It is as powerful as the Malaysian, Canadian and New Zealand passport, and is more powerful than the Greek, South Korean or Australian passport (which both have a visa-free score of 152), according to the index.
A lot of European neighbours hold a slightly higher visa-free score of 154 (Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal) and 155 (including Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway and the UK).
Interestingly, the USA, which is typically assumed to be one of the world’s most powerful passports, falls into the latter category with a visa-free score of 155, while Japan has a visa-free rating of 154.
The world’s most powerful passport is the German passport (its visa-free score is 157) while Singapore and Sweden tie for the second most powerful passport.
