20 most powerful passports in the world

New Zealand ranked 20th in the worlds most powerful passport list. Photo / Mark Mitchell

New Zealand passports have made the top 20 most powerful passports in the world list, sneaking in at number 20.

The list has been compiled by transport research comparison site GoEuro.

It has ranked passports based on visa free access, the ability of citizens to obtain a passport, price, length of validity and the amount of hours a citizens must work to obtain their passport.

New Zealand passports allow its holder to visit 170 countries visa-free at a cost of $140, or 10 hours of work.

Passports from Sweden were deemed the most valuable with visa-free access to 174 countries, followed by Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The research found Afghanistan came in last, Turkey had the most expensive passports and United Arab Emirates the cheapest.

New Zealanders are set to enjoy 10-year passports once again. The period was reduced to five years in 2005 in response to security concerns sparked by the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.

1. Sweden
2. Finland
3. Germany
4. United Kingdom
5. USA
6. Denmark
7. Canada
8. Spain
9. Belgium
10. Netherlands
11. France
12. Portugal
13. Japan
14. Italy
15. Norway
16. Austria
17. Ireland
18. Singapore
19. Switzerland
20. New Zealand

Source: GoEuro