Pakistan Passport Drops Nine Places to 183rd in Global Ranking

Pakistan's passport has fallen nine positions to 183rd place in a global mobility ranking for 2026, reversing the improvement recorded over the previous two years. The latest figures place the country near the bottom of the international table and highlight the continuing travel restrictions faced by Pakistani citizens seeking to visit destinations abroad.

The Pakistani passport now carries a Mobility Score of 42. That figure represents destinations accessible through a combination of visa-free entry, visa on arrival and electronic travel authorisation. Of those destinations, only nine currently allow Pakistani passport holders to enter completely without a visa, underscoring the limited level of unrestricted international mobility available to citizens.

Another 29 destinations permit Pakistani travellers to obtain visas on arrival, while four offer access through electronic travel authorisations. Travellers must secure conventional visas in advance for the remaining 156 destinations included in the ranking. The figures show that advance visa requirements continue to apply to the overwhelming majority of international destinations for Pakistani passport holders.

The nine destinations listed as offering visa-free access are Barbados, Dominica, The Gambia, Haiti, Micronesia, Rwanda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu. Visa-on-arrival arrangements provide additional travel options, although passengers still have to complete immigration formalities and meet entry conditions after reaching their destinations.

Pakistan's latest position marks a significant reversal after several years of gradual improvement. The country stood at 180th in 2023 before climbing to 175th in 2024 and 174th in 2025. The fall to 183rd in 2026 therefore represents a nine-place year-on-year decline, the steepest annual drop recorded for Pakistan during the seven-year period covered by the available data.

Only Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan are positioned below Pakistan in the 2026 ranking. The country's current standing is also 14 places lower than its 2020 position of 169th, showing that the overall ranking has deteriorated despite temporary gains during the middle of the decade. Pakistan's Mobility Score has followed a somewhat different pattern, improving from 36 in 2020 to 47 in both 2023 and 2024 before declining to 44 in 2025 and 42 this year.

The ranking evaluates passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without obtaining a conventional visa before departure. Fully visa-free access is regarded as the strongest form of mobility, while visas on arrival and electronic travel authorisations provide more limited forms of simplified entry. Individual destinations can still impose additional conditions covering passport validity, return tickets, funds, health documentation and the purpose of travel.

For Pakistani travellers, the latest decline means visa planning remains an important part of most international journeys, with advance applications required for a large number of countries. The ranking also places renewed attention on Pakistan's international travel access and bilateral visa arrangements. Future updates will indicate whether new agreements or changes in entry policies improve mobility or whether the country's position remains close to the bottom of the global table.