The staggering changes in mobility as Coronavirus infects global passport power.
The Covid-19 global pandemic has taken under siege all of humanity; infecting our way of life and challenging some of our greatest advancements. Including mobility.
From tightened visa regulations and border closures, the rapid spread of the virus has profoundly disrupted global mobility, as the pandemic sweeps through one continent at a time.
To date, there are 91 countries on complete lockdown. This means that in 45% of the world; no one gets in, and no one gets out.
Prior to the crisis however, the world had never been more open.
A historic dive
Since the inception of the World Openness Score (WOS) in 2015, Passport Index has been measuring the ease of open travel between countries, year after year.
In 2016, the WOS was 17,927 and had been increasing at an average rate of 6% per year to reach an all-time high of 21,360 in December 2019.
In the era of Covid-19, the World Openness Score declined by over 17% — reaching a historic low of 18,137.
Passport rankings are flattened out
As the world seals its doors shut, even the most powerful passports have lost their rankings and share the same travel freedom as some of the lowest ranking passports.
Passport holders who could previously travel to nearly 170 countries, are now restricted from entering most parts of the world. Although temporary, the pandemic has displayed how volatile mobility can be, even for some of the world’s most powerful nations.
As such; countries like the USA, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Japan are no longer trusted visitors, something that nations at the bottom of the scale like Afghanistan and Syria have been well accustomed to.
The pursuit for multiple passports
Throughout the past few weeks, the influence our passports play in shaping our present, and our future, has been revealed.
It has become evident that holding a single powerful passport is not nearly enough to ensure an alternative route to safety and security, as it is to have multiple passports.
Being a citizen of more than one country helps open the doors to diverse options, opportunities, and reassurances — having the luxury to choose the best way to protect your family, your assets and your future.
Mobility commoditized
Let’s face it: there will most probably be another pandemic, or another crisis that humanity will need to overcome in upcoming generations. In the face of adversity, however, the human race has learnt to evolve and grow stronger.
With millions of people currently in lockdown, stranded in their homes and unable to travel; we are certain that once this crisis is over, global mobility will display another historic trajectory upwards.
As people will start to leave their homes again, reconnect again, and pump life back into their communities, they will begin to place immeasurable value on the one thing that was taken away from them: their freedom of movement.
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