Italy's passport ranked after Singapore's and tied with its counterparts from France, Germany, Spain and Japan in the latest Henley Passport Index: this is thanks to the possibility of visa-free entry into as many as 192 countries and territories around the world, three fewer than those allowed by the “little red book” issued by the Asian city-state.

In a notable shift, the United States dropped from fifth to eighth place because of a passport that allows entry to 186 travel destinations. The Henley Passport Index has been evaluating 199 passports against 227 travel destinations for 19 years using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

In third place came South Korea, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, with guaranteed entry to 191 destinations. The United Kingdom, which held first place with the U.S. in 2014, is now fourth (190 destinations) along with New Zealand, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

Completing the top five are Australia and Portugal (189 destinations).