Road fatalities in Greece plummeted by a record 22% last year, dropping to their lowest level since the 1960s following a sweeping national crackdown on traffic violations and the deployment of artificial intelligence.

Greek lawmaker Tasos Chatzivasileiou is demanding the immediate lifting of his parliamentary immunity to fight what he calls "unfounded" allegations linked to an ongoing agricultural subsidy investigation.

The Greek passport climbed to 5th place worldwide in this year's Passport Index Ranking by Henley & Partners, which measures the power or... passage that each passport has in the world. The Greek passport records excellent performance, ranking above countries such as the United Kingdom, the USA, Australia, Monaco, Canada, etc. and proving that... it is a godsend - and luck - to be a holder of the Greek passport.

This is the historically top performance of our country since the index was established (in the last 20 years), compared to the worst, in 2010, when it had plummeted to 12th place worldwide. The Henley study highlights the Greek passport as one of the strongest and most attractive in the world, as it is in the top five, among 199 different passports and 227 travel destinations.

The Henley Passport Index, the only passport quality index, is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) updated monthly and is considered internationally the most reliable tool for evaluating and comparing passports and, consequently, freedom of mobility between independent states, but also the access that a citizen of a country has to the rest of the world. It records the destinations that the passport holder can visit without a visa and essentially gives us an idea of ​​how... welcome we are as citizens of this country and where.

Visa-free to 184 countries
Greece moved up one place this year compared to last year's performance, returning to the 5th place it held in 2024. This is the historically highest performance of the Greek passport, compared to 12th place in 2010 and 8th in 2020 and 2023. According to the Henley & Partners report, Greek passport holders can travel freely, without the use of any type of visa, to 184 independent, free countries in every corner of the world.

It seems like the urban myths that are circulated, but for just one destination the Greek passport loses 4th place. With 184 destinations, it shares 5th place with Austria, Portugal and Malta, placing it below the countries that have free access to 185 destinations and are Switzerland, Spain, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, Belgium.

Greek passport holders, according to this year's Passport Index, need a visa to travel to, among others, Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Ecuador, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, India, Iraq, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea.

Also, a visa is required for Greek passport holders to travel to the Russian Federation, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Vietnam and Yemen. The first three places are occupied by: Singapore in 1st place with 192 visa-free destinations, Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates in 2nd place with 187 and Sweden in 3rd place with 186. From near Greece, Turkey occupies 44th place with 113 destinations, Albania in 40th place with 121 and North Macedonia in 37th place with 126.

Greece enjoys a higher position with a stronger passport than countries such as China (55th place with 82 visa-free destinations), Saudi Arabia (51st place with 87), the Russian Federation (44th place with 113), Israel (16th place with 166) and the USA (10th place with 179). The Cypriot passport is in 13th place with 174 destinations, along with those of Hong Kong and Chile, while the last five are completed by the following countries: Afghanistan in 101st and last place with 24 visa-free destinations, Syria in 100th with 26, Iraq in 99th with 29, Pakistan and Yemen in 98th with 31 and Somalia in 97th with 32, all of them below Kim Jong-un's North Korea, which managed to overtake them by climbing to 96th place from 99th last year and 109th in 2021.

However, the most notable negative performance has been the American passport, which was the most powerful in the world, according to Henley, in 2006 and 2013, recording a continuous decline since then, to end up in 10th place today. The position of the most powerful passport in the world was held from 2014 to 2016, but also in 2024, by Germany, which however lost the podium, ending up in 4th place, recording exactly the same course as the country with which it shared 1st place in 2024 and today shares 4th place, France.

The most notable positive performance has been from the United Arab Emirates passport, whose statistical record of its progress resembles... climbing Mount Everest. From 65th place in 2010 to 55th in 2014, to 38th in 2017, to 21st in 2018, to 15th in 2022, to 11th in 2024, to 10th in 2025 and to 2nd this year.

Diplomatic Index
The Henley Passport Index is not only a useful tool for travelers, but also for investors and governments, revealing the power and freedom that a passport offers, directly affecting the ease of travel, business and investment opportunities and international security. The stronger a passport is, the more stable its holders enjoy at home and the more privileged they are treated abroad when traveling.

In terms of travel, ease and freedom, the index helps travelers understand how easily they can cross borders, avoiding time-consuming visa applications. High-ranking passports mean less bureaucracy and spontaneous travel.

In terms of business and global mobility, indexes like the highly respected Henley & Partners index serve as a guide for international business professionals, facilitating travel for meetings and investment.

For global citizenship and citizenship by investment, investors use the Passport Index to compare second citizenship options to maximize the freedom and security of their travels. But it is also a diplomatic index, as governments use the ranking as a measure of diplomatic influence and to monitor international relations, as well as the international recognition or isolation a country has. In terms of basic metrics, the index measures the scores of “visa-free” (access) and “hospitable” (how open a country is to others).

On Holy Wednesday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a ban on access to social media for children under 15, effective from January 1, 2027.