Dhaka: Bangladesh passport holders have received positive news as the country has climbed one notch upward in the 2025 Global Passport Index from 182nd to 181st place. The updated Global Passport Index rankings, released by Dubai-based consultancy Nomad Capitalist, have brought Bangladesh before any of its neighboring countries, including Pakistan itself, but still very weak compared to other regional leaders regarding the strength of the passport.
The five immediate evaluation criteria for country passports are: visa-free entry, taxation policies, global perception, dual citizenship opportunities, and personal freedom. Bangladesh's score for 2025 was just 38, which indicates a quite insignificant growth over other years. Currently, Bangladeshi passport holders can travel to 50 countries visa-free, visa on arrival or with an e-visa, which enhances their travel with a major convenience.
Reduced, but Bangladesh still has an empty slate in the global perception category where it scored only 30, indicating that the travelers from Bangladesh may not receive too warm a welcome in many countries, especially as compared to travelers from nations ranked higher on the index. In fact, in this category, countries with scores below 50 often face hospitality issues abroad.
Globally, the most powerful passport is that of Ireland, offering visa-free entry into 176 states. In South Asia, the strongest passport belongs to the Maldives, ranking 104 globally, with visa-free access to 101 countries. Thus Bangladesh ranks ahead of Afghanistan and Pakistan in the regional comparison but still lags behind Bhutan and India.
While the Bangladesh passport still stalls behind South Asian counterparts, this small rise in ranking offers hope of improvements to come in the following years; not just for itself but for enhancing global mobility opportunities for its citizens.
[Source Credit: Dhaka Tribune]
