According to the report, which scores the passports on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free, Vietnamese passports enable visa-free travel to 55 destinations globally.

This represents an improvement on the last ranking released early this year which saw the Vietnamese passport finish 88th globally.

Currently, Singapore surpassed Japan to boast the most powerful passport in the region, with visa exemptions from 192 countries. Elsewhere, Germany, Italy, and Spain all shared second place with 190 visa-free destinations.

Third place went to Japan, along with the Republic of Korea, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, and Sweden.

The ranking in the Henley Passport Index is based on exclusive data compiled by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information.

Statistics are compiled based on 199 passports and 227 global destinations, and the list is duly updated every quarter.