Singapore Passport Most Powerful, Valuable in 2017

The tiny nation of Singapore now has the most powerful passport in the world.

According to the Passport Index, which tabulates the number of countries that holders of passports can enter either visa-free or by gaining a visa on arrival, holders of the Asian city-state's travel documents can cross borders most smoothly, Traveller.com reported. The No. 1 spot comes after a recent decision by Paraguay to remove visa requirements for those carrying Singapore's passport, meaning 159 countries can now be easily visited.

The index, which is an online tool ranking the world's passports by their cross-border ease of access, was developed by Canada-based international residence and citizenship advisory firm Arton Capital. In a statement, Philippe May, managing director of Arton Capital's Singapore office, said the ranking "is a testament of Singapore's inclusive diplomatic relations and effective foreign policy". Until Paraguay's decision, Singapore, which is the first Asian nation to head the rankings, was tied with Germany with a score of 158. Germany is now in second place, followed by Sweden and South Korea at 157.

Australia is tied with New Zealand and Greece at seventh place. Meanwhile, the index brought bad news for US passport holders. According to Arton Capital, since US President Donald Trump took office, Americans have become less welcome across the globe, with Turkey and the Central African Republic being the most recent nations to revoke visa-free status, leaving the US with a score of 154 and behind 18 other nations.

Iran is in 88th place tied with Nepal, Sri Lanka and Sudan.

At the bottom of the list stands Afghanistan, with a score of 22.