Women can get a passport as men do
Whether a woman can apply for a passport on the same terms as a man.
- measured by
- World Bank
- years covered
- 1970–2023
- subject
- Personal
Higher means more freedom.
How this is measured
One of the Women, Business and the Law questions, kept on its own because it is unusually concrete: can a woman obtain a passport without a husband’s or a guardian’s permission. 1 where she can, 0 where she cannot. A binary legal fact rather than a judgement, which makes it a useful check on the indices that average many such facts together.
Ranked for 2023
164 countries and territories have a figure for 2023. This is the most recent year the series covers well; the viewer holds every year from 1970.
| # | Country | Region | Passports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Afghanistan | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 2 | Angola | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 3 | Albania | Europe | 1.000 |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 5 | Argentina | Americas | 1.000 |
| 6 | Armenia | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 7 | Australia | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 8 | Austria | Europe | 1.000 |
| 9 | Azerbaijan | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 10 | Burundi | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 11 | Belgium | Europe | 1.000 |
| 12 | Benin | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 13 | Burkina Faso | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 14 | Bangladesh | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 15 | Bulgaria | Europe | 1.000 |
| 16 | Bahamas | Americas | 1.000 |
| 17 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe | 1.000 |
| 18 | Belarus | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 19 | Belize | Americas | 1.000 |
| 20 | Bolivia | Americas | 1.000 |
| 21 | Brazil | Americas | 1.000 |
| 22 | Brunei | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 23 | Bhutan | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 24 | Central African Republic | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 25 | Canada | Americas | 1.000 |
| 26 | Switzerland | Europe | 1.000 |
| 27 | Chile | Americas | 1.000 |
| 28 | China | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 29 | Côte d'Ivoire | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 30 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 31 | Colombia | Americas | 1.000 |
| 32 | Costa Rica | Americas | 1.000 |
| 33 | Cyprus | Europe | 1.000 |
| 34 | Czechia | Europe | 1.000 |
| 35 | Germany | Europe | 1.000 |
| 36 | Djibouti | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 37 | Denmark | Europe | 1.000 |
| 38 | Dominican Republic | Americas | 1.000 |
| 39 | Ecuador | Americas | 1.000 |
| 40 | Eritrea | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 41 | Spain | Europe | 1.000 |
| 42 | Estonia | Europe | 1.000 |
| 43 | Ethiopia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 44 | Finland | Europe | 1.000 |
| 45 | Fiji | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 46 | France | Europe | 1.000 |
| 47 | Gabon | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 48 | United Kingdom | Europe | 1.000 |
| 49 | Georgia | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 50 | Ghana | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 51 | Guinea | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 52 | Gambia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 53 | Guinea-Bissau | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 54 | Equatorial Guinea | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 55 | Greece | Europe | 1.000 |
| 56 | Guatemala | Americas | 1.000 |
| 57 | Honduras | Americas | 1.000 |
| 58 | Croatia | Europe | 1.000 |
| 59 | Hungary | Europe | 1.000 |
| 60 | Indonesia | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 61 | India | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 62 | Ireland | Europe | 1.000 |
| 63 | Iraq | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 64 | Iceland | Europe | 1.000 |
| 65 | Israel | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 66 | Italy | Europe | 1.000 |
| 67 | Jamaica | Americas | 1.000 |
| 68 | Jordan | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 69 | Japan | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 70 | Kazakhstan | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 71 | Kenya | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 72 | Kyrgyzstan | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 73 | Cambodia | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 74 | South Korea | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 75 | Kuwait | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 76 | Laos | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 77 | Lebanon | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 78 | Liberia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 79 | Sri Lanka | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 80 | Lesotho | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 81 | Lithuania | Europe | 1.000 |
| 82 | Luxembourg | Europe | 1.000 |
| 83 | Latvia | Europe | 1.000 |
| 84 | Morocco | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 85 | Moldova | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 86 | Mexico | Americas | 1.000 |
| 87 | North Macedonia | Europe | 1.000 |
| 88 | Mali | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 89 | Montenegro | Europe | 1.000 |
| 90 | Mongolia | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 91 | Mozambique | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 92 | Mauritania | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 93 | Malaysia | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 94 | Niger | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 95 | Nigeria | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 96 | Nicaragua | Americas | 1.000 |
| 97 | Netherlands | Europe | 1.000 |
| 98 | Norway | Europe | 1.000 |
| 99 | Nepal | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 100 | New Zealand | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 101 | Oman | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 102 | Panama | Americas | 1.000 |
| 103 | Peru | Americas | 1.000 |
| 104 | Poland | Europe | 1.000 |
| 105 | Puerto Rico | Americas | 1.000 |
| 106 | Portugal | Europe | 1.000 |
| 107 | Paraguay | Americas | 1.000 |
| 108 | Palestine | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 109 | Qatar | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 110 | Romania | Europe | 1.000 |
| 111 | Russia | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 112 | Rwanda | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 113 | Saudi Arabia | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 114 | Sudan | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 115 | Senegal | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 116 | Sierra Leone | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 117 | El Salvador | Americas | 1.000 |
| 118 | Somalia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 119 | Serbia | Europe | 1.000 |
| 120 | South Sudan | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 121 | Slovakia | Europe | 1.000 |
| 122 | Slovenia | Europe | 1.000 |
| 123 | Sweden | Europe | 1.000 |
| 124 | Eswatini | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 125 | Syria | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 126 | Chad | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 127 | Togo | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 128 | Thailand | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 129 | Tajikistan | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 130 | Timor-Leste | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 131 | Tunisia | Middle East & North Africa | 1.000 |
| 132 | Turkey | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 133 | Tanzania | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 134 | Uganda | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 135 | Ukraine | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 136 | Uruguay | Americas | 1.000 |
| 137 | United States | Americas | 1.000 |
| 138 | Uzbekistan | Eurasia | 1.000 |
| 139 | Venezuela | Americas | 1.000 |
| 140 | Vietnam | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 141 | Vanuatu | Asia-Pacific | 1.000 |
| 142 | South Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 143 | Zimbabwe | Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.000 |
| 144 | Botswana | Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.000 |
| 145 | Cameroon | Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.000 |
| 146 | Congo | Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.000 |
| 147 | Algeria | Middle East & North Africa | 0.000 |
| 148 | Egypt | Middle East & North Africa | 0.000 |
| 149 | Guyana | Americas | 0.000 |
| 150 | Haiti | Americas | 0.000 |
| 151 | Iran | Middle East & North Africa | 0.000 |
| 152 | Libya | Middle East & North Africa | 0.000 |
| 153 | Madagascar | Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.000 |
| 154 | Myanmar | Asia-Pacific | 0.000 |
| 155 | Malawi | Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.000 |
| 156 | Namibia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.000 |
| 157 | Pakistan | Asia-Pacific | 0.000 |
| 158 | Philippines | Asia-Pacific | 0.000 |
| 159 | Papua New Guinea | Asia-Pacific | 0.000 |
| 160 | Solomon Islands | Asia-Pacific | 0.000 |
| 161 | Suriname | Americas | 0.000 |
| 162 | Trinidad and Tobago | Americas | 0.000 |
| 163 | Yemen | Middle East & North Africa | 0.000 |
| 164 | Zambia | Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.000 |
Data by year
Show 54 yearly JSON rankings
Follow a year link to open the complete world ranking, including country names, values, positions, source and licence.
- 2023 JSON
- 2022 JSON
- 2021 JSON
- 2020 JSON
- 2019 JSON
- 2018 JSON
- 2017 JSON
- 2016 JSON
- 2015 JSON
- 2014 JSON
- 2013 JSON
- 2012 JSON
- 2011 JSON
- 2010 JSON
- 2009 JSON
- 2008 JSON
- 2007 JSON
- 2006 JSON
- 2005 JSON
- 2004 JSON
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- 2002 JSON
- 2001 JSON
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- 1999 JSON
- 1998 JSON
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- 1996 JSON
- 1995 JSON
- 1994 JSON
- 1993 JSON
- 1992 JSON
- 1991 JSON
- 1990 JSON
- 1989 JSON
- 1988 JSON
- 1987 JSON
- 1986 JSON
- 1985 JSON
- 1984 JSON
- 1983 JSON
- 1982 JSON
- 1981 JSON
- 1980 JSON
- 1979 JSON
- 1978 JSON
- 1977 JSON
- 1976 JSON
- 1975 JSON
- 1974 JSON
- 1973 JSON
- 1972 JSON
- 1971 JSON
- 1970 JSON
Source and licence
World Bank — Women, Business and the Law
CC BY 4.0. Women, Business and the Law, World Bank How every source was checked