WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL PASSPORT 2017

German citizens still possess the world's most powerful passport, according to new research, with Britain slipping from joint third to joint eighth place. The ranking by Henley & Partners, a citizenship and planning firm, takes into account how many countries can be visited without applying for a visa. German passport holders can travel to 176 out of a possible 218, while Britons can visit 173. The UK topped the 2015 rankings, alongside Germany, but ceded that spot after several countries relaxed visa restrictions to the latter. It was leapfrogged by Sweden last year and now lags behind Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain and the US.  Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Singapore share eighth place with the UK. Syria, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan prop up the table, each with visa-free access to fewer than 30 countries.