Dhaka: The Bangladeshi passport again ranked as the ninth weakest worldwide.

The holder of a Bangladeshi passport can only travel to 41 out of 227 destinations globally without a prior visa, stated the third-quarter edition of the Henley Passport Index 2022.

Released on July 19, the index by Henley and Partners put Bangladesh at the 104^th position among 112 spots.

Bangladesh shares the position with Kosovo and Libya.

The position remained the same for Bangladesh in the second-quarter edition of the index published in April 2022.

Bangladesh, however, ranked 103^rd among 111 spots in the first-quarter edition of the index published in January 2022.

In the fourth-quarter edition of the 2021 index, Bangladesh was in the 108^th position among 116 spots in the index released in October 2021.

According to the index, among the 41 destinations that a Bangladeshi passport holder can travel to without a prior visa, 16 are in Africa, 11 in the Caribbean, seven in Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), six in Asia, and one in South America.

With a Bangladeshi passport, it is not possible to visit any European country without a prior visa.

Meanwhile, the Japanese passport continues to top the index as its holders are allowed to go to a record 193 destinations visa-free.

Singapore and South Korea came in 2^nd place jointly, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 192.

Germany and Spain jointly hold third place, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 190.

Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg, share the fourth place, as their passport holders are able to access 189 destinations around the world without having to acquire a visa in advance.

The passport of the Maldives is the most powerful in South Asia (ranked 63^rd), enabling visa-free entry to 89 countries, followed by India (87^th), Bhutan (93^rd), and Sri Lanka (103^rd).

Bangladesh is in the fifth position in South Asia, above Nepal (106^th) and Pakistan (109^th).

Updated quarterly, the recent edition of the index ranked passports of 199 countries in 112 spots according to the number of destinations their holders can travel to without a prior visa. The index is based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association.