Americans, Finns and Danes Have Most Freedom to Travel Visa-Free
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 02.03.06 | 7:38 AM ET
I’ve been spending the week in Grand Cayman working on a story and chatting with travelers and ex-pats from around the world. Twice I’ve found myself struggling to explain the United States’ ban on travel to Cuba to people understandably baffled by it. When they ask what I think, I find myself saying that whatever you think of Fidel Castro’s government, and I’m not a fan, you should have the right to visit the country and make up your own mind. Besides, the policy has proved remarkably ineffective. The man is still in power. All this was on my mind when I came across this AP headline on CBC.com: Citizens of Denmark, Finland, U.S. have most freedom to travel without visas. It turns out that citizens of these countries can travel to 130 countries without having to get a visa, according to a landmark report. Germany, Ireland and Sweden tied for a close second place, with their citizens able to visit 129 countries without visas.
According to the AP report:
Afghanistan came in last place, with its citizens allowed free travel to just 12 countries. Internationally isolated Iran was next at 14, followed by Iraq, Myanmar and Somalia at 15.
Henley & Partners - which compiled the results by assessing some 40,000 combinations of countries and territories - said it was the first global ranking showing international freedom of travel.
“Visa requirements are also an expression of the relationships between individual nations, and generally reflect the relations and status of a country within the international community,” the company said.
All in all, U.S. citizens are among the most privileged travelers in the world, with free and easy access to most of the globe. The issue with Cuba doesn’t involve a visa from the Cuban government, of course. It involves a self-imposed travel ban. Which, given this report, only looks that much more ridiculous.
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
Candace 02.03.06 | 4:47 PM ET
Back in the 1950s, when Castro first took over, my socialist-leaning Dad informed me that the capitalist-oppressed Cubans lived on an island and couldn’t even go to the beach - the beaches were fenced off by hotels catering to wealthy tourists.
A couple of years ago I read essentially the same story, only this time it was Castro fencing off the hotel beaches so the Cubans wouldn’t rub elbows with the wealthy tourists and perhaps start feeling that it was socialism oppressing them.
I’ve seen documentaries on present-day Cuba and I’ve traveled in Eastern Europe in the immediate aftermatch of decades of communism. Dictatorships create dreary, tattered, depressing countries. The US ban on travel to Cuba is hardly necessary.
Ron Mader 02.05.06 | 6:51 AM ET
Excellent essay. We’re adding a link from the headlines page on Planeta.com.
Just a suggestion—but it would be great if World Hum hosted an online dialogue or conference. Specifically, I’d tune in to an extended discussion of visas, migration and travel bans.
Jim 02.06.06 | 2:45 AM ET
Great points, Candace.
Ron, thanks for kind words and link. Interesting suggestion about the online conference. We’ll have to give that some thought. It could be a lot of fun.
-Jim
Eva 12.19.06 | 11:20 AM ET
I would like to find out what other country/countries ban their citizens from travelling to other countries, like the USA to Cuba. I suppose North Korea of course, but any other country? Can someone help me with this please?
Fariborz 03.07.08 | 11:45 PM ET
Well, in Iranians are banned to travel to Israel (it’s printed in their pasport and they sign passport form).
Also we can’t call Israeli’s phone numbers through our phone system! we should talk through internet phone services.