The British investment migration consulting firm Henley & Partners on Jan. 10 ranked Korea's passport second in its quarterly global passport index. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

By Yoon Seungjin

The nation ranks second among 199 countries in a global passport index.

The British investment migration firm Henley & Partners on Jan. 10 in its 2024 Henley Passport Index ranked the Korean passport second along with those of Finland and Sweden for having visa-free access to 193 countries.

Korea climbed from third in the second half of last year to second early this year, with the number of countries allowing visa-free entry for Korean passport holders rising from 189 to 193 over the period.

Six countries -- Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, Italy and Spain -- tied for the top spot with visa-free access to 194 countries.

Sharing No. 3 were Austria, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands each with 192 countries. Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal and the U.K. tied for fourth with 191, and Greece, Malta and Switzerland fifth with 190.

Citing data from the International Air Transport Association, Henley & Partners releases its quarterly index reflecting visa-free access by the passports of 199 countries to 227 travel destinations.

scf2979@korea.kr