PASSPORTS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL!

You have come to the conclusion that you will no longer sit back and watch the world from other people’s point of view.  You want to see the world for yourself and create your own memories.  You have explored the local scene and are now ready to take the next step up.  Getting out of your comfort zone and beyond the borders.

First things first!! Do you own a passport?  That one piece of documentation required to facilitate your travels to and from foreign countries.  Maybe you do and maybe you don’t own one.  If you’re in the later category,  please make it a priority to acquire one.  If in the former category, do you know how powerful your passport is?

Arton, an advisory firm that helps people take part in citizenship and residency programs for investors, has created the Passport Index, which ranks travel documents based on how many countries their holders can visit without having to obtain a visa in advance. The more nations you can access merely by showing up and getting a landing visa at the airport (or even entering visa-free), the more powerful your passport is.

Here’s the ranking from the best to the worst:

The creme-de-la-creme:

• U.S., U.K. (147 countries)
• France, South Korea, Germany (145)
• Sweden, Italy (144)
• Denmark, Singapore, Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands (143)
• Switzerland (142)

The bottom of the pile:

• Congo (Dem. Rep.), Yemen, Central African Republic, Kosovo (41)
• Equatorial Guinea, Bhutan, Comoros, Burundi (40)
• Somalia, Eritrea (39)
• Afghanistan, Djibouti, Iraq, Ethiopia, Nepal (38)
• South Sudan, Solomon Islands, Palestinian Territories, Sao Tome and Principe, Myanmar (28)

The country list is based on 193 United Nations member countries and six territories, and visa data is from the International Air Transport Association and other sources according to Arton. Where does your passport fall in the ranking?

Source of list: CNN Money