In this file photo, a passenger using a face mask shows her passport and boarding pass to an employee in a security checkpoint at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota on September 1, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic (DANIEL MUNOZ / AFP)

WELLINGTON - The New Zealand passport is now the "most powerful" travel document worldwide, according to the latest ranking by the Passport Index on Monday.

Amid chaotic travels caused by COVID-19, the Passport Index has put the New Zealand passport at the top of the country and region list, surpassing Japan which has slipped back to the second.

The Passport Index is one of the several indices which measure the amount of visa-free world travel. It looks at the passports of 193 United Nations members and six territories.

The Passport Index is one of the several indices which measure the amount of visa-free world travel. It looks at the passports of 193 United Nations members and six territories

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Various factors influence the ranking, including a mobility score, visa requirements, electronic travel authorization, and a world openness score. COVID-19 measures and restrictions have played a role in the ranking.

New Zealand currently has visa-free access, or visa on entry, to 129 countries and regions, up from 80 during the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. However, last year, the number of countries and regions, to which New Zealand has visa-free access, was 169.

The US passport has dropped to the 21st in the ranking due to the poor handling of COVID-19 and the fact that not many countries and regions welcome US travelers.

Beside New Zealand and Japan, the top 10 in the ranking includes Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, South Korea and Australia, mostly European countries.

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The Passport Index was launched by Arton Capital, a financial services firm with a head office in Montreal, Canada, in 2014. The Passport Index is the original interactive passport ranking tool in the world.

It is the only real-time global ranking of the world's passports, updated as frequently as new visa waivers and changes are implemented, according to its official website.