Germans boast the world's most powerful passports, NZ trails behind

14:38, Jan 21 2017

Germans have maintained their spot at the top of the world's most powerful passport holders but New Zealanders also have something to celebrate.

Germany has taken out the Passport Index ratings with visa-free access to 158 countries, with Sweden and Singapore in the second spot with 157 each.

The Kiwi passport comes in at equal-fifth spot, up from seventh last year, and ahead of Australia.

The latest rankings were released by Passportindex.org, which looks at the number of visa-free regions and countries that a passport has access to.

New Zealand sits in fifth place with Malaysia, Ireland and Canada - one more than Australia.

Afghanistan is still the lowest on the list, only having access to a mere 23 countries without a visa, two fewer than last year.

TOP 10 STRONGEST PASSPORTS

1. Germany (158)

2. Sweden, Singapore (157)

3. Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, United Kingdom, United States of America (156)

4. Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, Japan (155)

5. Malaysia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand (154)

6. Greece, South Korea, Australia (153)

7. Czech Republic, Iceland (152)

8. Hungary (151)

9. Malta, Poland (150)

10. Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia (149)

10 WEAKEST PASSPORTS

1. Afghanistan (23)

2. Pakistan (26)

3. Iraq (28)

4. Syria (29)

5. Somalia (30)

6. Ethiopia, South Sudan (34)

7. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh (35)

8. Sudan, Eritrea, Iran (36)

9. Nepal, Libya, Palestine Territories (37)

10. Lebanon (38)

Stuff