The United Arab Emirates passport has risen a dramatic 15 places in the past year, according to  Henley & Partners Visa Restriction Index.

Coming in 40th overall in the world, the UAE sits comfortably as the most powerful passport within the Middle East and North Africa on the ranking, which evaluates passports based on the travel freedoms they provide to holders.

While the UAE has risen dramatically, the former top spot on the ranking held by the United States and Sweden has been overtaken by Germany and the United Kingdom. However, the U.S. and Sweden still come in at 2nd place along with Finland.

Syrian and Iraqi passports continued to rank at the bottom of the list, coming in at 105 and 108 respectively.

Here is a look at how passports rank within the region.

  1. United Arab Emirates (40 overall)
  2. Turkey (49)
  3. Kuwait (63)
  4. Qatar (66)
  5. Bahrain (70)
  6. Oman (72)
  7. Saudi Arabia (74)
  8. Tunisia (76)
  9. Morocco (56)
  10. Egypt (91)
  11. Algeria (93)
  12. Jordan (94)
  13. Yemen (99)
  14. Iran and Lebanon (101)
  15. Sudan (103)
  16. Palestine (104)
  17. Syria (106)
  18. Iraq (108)
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