ST. KITTS--Most of the Caribbean nations have all moved up the ranking in the 2nd Edition of the Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI) which was published in London on Wednesday. The QNI is the first index of its kind to objectively rank the value of every nationality of the world in terms of legal status in which to develop your talents and business.
Ranking 56th and 57th respectively, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis remain in the High Quality tier of the index, moving up two positions to 56th and 57th respectively in the world. Grenada (67th) and St. Lucia (64th) are amongst the Top Risers worldwide, gaining 24 and 22 places respectively to secure 67th and 64th position, moving them from the Medium Quality tier to the High Quality tier on the index. Other Caribbean countries that now enjoy High Quality status are those of the Commonwealth of Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Hugh Morshead, Group Director at Henley & Partners, says there are quite substantial differences between the Caribbean nations in the top 60 of the QNI General Ranking, and those such as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, which all fall outside the top 100.
“Higher-scoring nationalities generally have stronger economies, greater development and more peace and stability, and their citizens’ benefit from better travel freedom. The Schengen visa liberalization has significantly extended the travel freedom of many Caribbean nations which is why they are now climbing up the index,” explained Morshead.
Scoring 82.7 per cent and consistently ranking highest for the last five years, Germany’s quality of nationality remains first in the world, according to the QNI. Following closely behind Germany, France and Denmark share second place on the index with a score of 82.4 per cent, and Iceland ranks third overall at 81.3 per cent.
The UK also ranked in the Extremely High category, just missing out on the “Top 10” in 12th position with a score of 79.2 per cent. The US, meanwhile, ranked 29th on the QNI with a score of 68.8 per cent — still higher than the EU mean of 63 per cent. The global mean in 2016 was 39.32 per cent, with Afghanistan taking last position on the index with a score of 14.6 per cent.
The QNI is relevant to both individuals interested in the mobility and the possibilities and the limitations of their nationalities, and governments focused on improving the local, regional and
global opportunities inherent in their passports.
Generally, the global quality of nationalities went up by 0.75 per cent. All nationalities saw a change in value in 2016, but only 45 lost their value. By comparison, 88 nationalities lost value in 2015.
A total of 140 nationalities increased in value in 2016, which is 59 more than in 2015. The global mean in 2016 was 39.32 per cent, with the German nationality again positioned at the top of the QNI General Ranking with a score of 82.7 per cent, and Afghanistan at the bottom of the index on 14.6 per cent.
In 2016, 28 nationalities were of Extremely High Quality (75 per cent and above); 17 nationalities were of Very High Quality (above 50 per cent); 43 nationalities were of High Quality (between 35 per cent and 49.9 per cent); 93 nationalities were in the Medium Quality tier (between 20.0 per cent and 34.9 per cent); and 14 nationalities were of Low Quality (below 20.0 per cent).
The shifts in the High Quality tier are most significant. As many as 17 nationalities which previously belonged to the Medium Quality tier have improved in value and are now classified as High Quality in 2016.
These primarily include the nationalities of Colombia and Peru, as well as those of five Caribbean states (the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago), which saw significant improvement in value and in their general ranking positions in 2016, due to the recent Schengen visa liberalization.
In the EU, the Croatian nationality continued to improve and move up the rankings with the removal of settlement restrictions by EU member states, but the remaining nationalities in the EU all fell slightly in value
The seven nationalities rising furthest in the ranking in 2016 are five Caribbean states, Timor Leste and Colombia, all of which benefitted from significant improvement to their Travel Freedom scores due to the opening up of visa-free tourist and business travel to Europe’s Schengen area. Timor-Leste was the highest climber, moving up 31 places to 95th place.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Commonwealth of Dominica each climbed 25 places on the index, now ranking 65th and 68th respectively. The third highest climber was Grenada, rising 24 positions to 67th place
Senegal dropped the most on the index, losing 16 positions to rank 104th. Libya and Saudi Arabia lost 15 and 14 places respectively on the QNI, dropping to 145th and 82nd position respectively.
Over the last five years, Colombia has risen the most on the QNI, climbing by 48 positions to 62nd place. Timor-Leste, which climbed the highest in the latest ranking, is also the second highest climber from 2012–2016, rising by 28 positions overall.
Most of the nationalities which lost significant quality have been affected by political instability or serious conflicts in their respective countries. Such developments have a severe impact on their Peace and Stability score as well as an indirect impact on the Human Development, Economic Strength, and Travel Freedom elements of the index.
The Syrian Arab Republic fell the most over the last five years, decreasing its rank by 27 places to settle on 154th position on the 2016 index. Libya — the second largest faller on the index between 2015–2016 — is also the second largest faller over the last five years, dropping by 21 positions to 145th place.
