How Powerful is Your Passport?

This map shows passport holders whose countries are granted visa-free access (or receive upon arrival) to the number of countries.

We may live in a world define by invisible meta-data and the Cloud, but the roughly 3x5 inch paper booklet known as the passport still a lot of weight. More than a simple grant of access into a country, passports and the visas they contain are a reflection of geopolitics, the relationship between two nations, and a country's stature relative to the rest of the world. They're also of immense value. Just ask any one of the developing world's citizens if they, rather win the lottery or a U.S. passport, chances are they'd say the latter (though they'd be wrong in thinking the American passport is the most powerful of them all). Here's a look at the strength of the world's passports ranked by the travel freedom a passport holder enjoys.