Almost 200 countries have been ranked by ‘value of citizenship’ in the Nomad Passport Index.

The bad news is that the Australian passport is not the most powerful in the world, but the good news is it cracks the top 20.

Nomad Capitalist, a global consulting firm, has ranked 199 countries by “value of citizenship” and according to its Nomad Passport Index, Australians have the 16th most valuable passport in the world.

Countries are assessed based on visa-free travel, taxation, perception, dual citizenship and overall freedom.

Australia — which tied with the United Kingdom — scored top marks for perception, dual citizenship and freedom, meaning Aussie citizens have a good global reputation, are almost always allowed to hold other citizenships, and are among the most free.

What dragged us down was visa-free travel and taxation. According to the index, Australian passport holders are granted visa-free access, or straightforward visa access, to 169 countries.

The Nomad Passport Index places the highest priority on visa-free travel, which is responsible for 50 per cent of each country’s total ranking.

The country which scored the best on this ranking was Germany, which has visa-free access to 177 countries.

Australia’s taxation arrangement for expats also dragged us down. Our passport was given the second lowest score, with Nomad Capitalist concluding our citizens may avoid taxation by moving overseas, but with difficulty.

THE MOST POWERFUL PASSPORT, AND THE LEAST

European citizens are the owners of the most valuable passports in the world with the top ten spots all countries in Europe. But the world’s most powerful passport belongs to Sweden.

Swedish citizens can not only visit 176 countries without a visa, but they enjoy an “excellent reputation” abroad, the ability to hold dual or multiple citizenships, high levels of personal freedom, and the ability to easily escape Swedish taxes by moving overseas.

The Swedish passport was ranked as the world’s most valuable by the Nomad Passport Index.Source:istock

The rest of the top 10 include Belgium, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

The United States passport, on the other hand, isn’t so desirable. It ranked 35th on the list, in a tie with Slovenia.

Although US citizens are able to travel easily to more countries than Australia — with visa-free access to 174 countries — they are also taxed on their worldwide income no matter where they live, do not have a respected reputation globally, and appear to have less freedoms than other countries.

The least powerful passport, ranking 199, is the Afghan passport. Citizens from Afghanistan are only allowed to travel easily to 25 countries, are strictly forbidden to hold other citizenships, are often taxed on their worldwide income, and encounter substantial hostility globally.

The complete rankings of the Nomad Passport Index can be found here.