The best and worst passports in Latin America

However, at the time of travel, many times, that passport, that document that helps us identify ourselves and enter other countries, is not so useful depending on where our roots come from.

If we think that 'the best passport' is one that allows us to enter a greater number of countries without the need to process a visa for tourism and/or business purposes, anyone could, thinking quickly, assume that the best passport in the world is that of the United States, because nobody would want to deny the entrance to the nationals of a country with which nobody wants to go into bad times.

The quick answer would be no, but it is close to being one of the countries with the 'best passport', it is in fourth place in the list, since it can access 174 countries in the world without requiring any type of visa.

To the citizens of Uncle Sam's country it is, in America, those who least require visa, there are, although countries that are the exception; China, North Korea, Cuba and other exceptional cases that require special permits processed at airports upon arrival. One of the most striking cases is that of Iran. Thanks to Donald Trump's policy, Iran allows US citizens who have a visa to enter their country, but does not issue new ones.

But for Latin American countries, another is the picture. According to the consultant Henley & Partners and the International Air Transport Association, IATA, the Latin American country with the 'best passport', clarifying that this qualifier is applied by reason of being able to enter the largest number of countries without a visa, is Chile, being located in position 19 of the list and being able to access 155 countries of the world without having to comply with this procedure, followed by Brazil in position 21 with 153 and Argentina in position 22 with 152.

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In the published list of 103 countries around the world, Latin American countries stand out, to which many more countries require the processing of a visa to enter, leaving Haiti in the place below the registry occupying position 89 to be able to enter without Visa only to 48 countries.

Higher in the account, not by much distance, is Dominican Republic in 83rd place with 54 countries and Cuba in 78th place with 59 countries to which their nationals can reach without needing a visa.

It should be noted the great leap that Colombia took to be exempt from the Schengen visa in the European Union from December 2015 after a successful management of international relations of the government of the time that managed to place the coffee country in 50th place in the list, accessing without visa to 103 countries, above Ecuador and Peru, positions 56 and 58 respectively.

The last three countries on this list are Afghanistan, who's citizens are only allowed to enter 25 countries, Iraq with 30 and Somalia with 31.

The top 5 of the 'best passports' are those of: Germany, with 177 which can be accessed without a visa, Sweden 176, Finland, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom in third place, with 175, Belgium, Denmark, Holland and the United States with 174 and Austria, Japan, Singapore with 173.

In a world where the economy is increasingly globalized every day, travel restrictions should be lower. However, this contrasts with the precarious humanitarian situation in pockets of poverty and wars as in some Latin American, African and Asian countries, which leads to some countries such as Canada, located in the sixth place of the list with 172 countries where their citizens can enter, to have some of the strictest visas for other countries.