Here’s how powerful an Irish passport is compared to ones from other countries

Organising visas before you head away on a trip is always a bit of a bother.

It's often said that the humble Irish passport is handy to have, but how true is that? Well, it turns out that it's less powerful than passports from the US, UK, Japan and Spain but more powerful than New Zealand and Australian passports. Irish passports are actually joint-fifth most powerful ones in the world. Irish passport holders can visit a total of 185 countries without needing to get a visa - the same as people with Swiss, Canadian and Belgian passports. Passports from Japan and Singapore are in fact the most powerful ones you can own. They allow holders to visit 189 countries around the world without a visa. German passports are the second-most powerful (188 countries visa-free), followed by passports from countries like Denmark, France, Italy and South Korea in third place (187 countries). Passport holders from Austria, Portugal, the UK and the US have the fourth most-powerful passports in the world as they can travel to 186 countries without needing a visa. Passports from countries in the Middle East feature prominently at the other end of the scale, meanwhile. Iraqi and Afghan passports rank as the least powerful in the world, enabling visa-free access to just 30 countries worldwide. Passports from Syria and the African country of Somalia rank second-least powerful. The information comes from the Henley Passport Index, which uses data gathered from the International Air Transport Association. A passport is much more than a simple travel document, says Dr Christian H. Kälin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners. "It is a gateway to international opportunities or a barrier to those same opportunities."