The South Korean passport was found to be the third most effective one for travelers around the world, allowing its bearers to travel to 191 countries visa-free, data showed Sunday, Trend reports citing Yonhap.
Asia's fourth-largest economy and Germany tied for third, only after Japan and Singapore, in the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index.
The Japanese passport provides visa-free travel to 193 countries and Singapore to 192 countries.
The index released by immigration consulting firm Henley & Partners Co. is the ranking of all the world's passports based on the number of countries their holders can travel without a visa. It did not take into account temporary travel curbs for the new coronavirus pandemic, the company said.
North Korea's passport came in 108th, approved by 39 countries for visa-free travel.
The passports of Afghanistan and Iraq had the most restrictions, allowing their holders to travel to 26 and 28 countries visa-free, respectively, according to the data.
The visa-free accessibility of the South Korean passport has been within the world's top three since 2018, marking a big jump since 13th in 2013.