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Nationalities: French ranked best nationality in 2017, RI at 107
Indonesian citizens (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)Based on quality of life and external values attached to a country’s citizenship, the French nationality was considered the best in the world last year, while Indonesia ranked 107th in the third edition of the Henley& Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI)
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Indonesian citizens (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
Based on quality of life and external values attached to a country’s citizenship, the French nationality was considered the best in the world last year, while Indonesia ranked 107th in the third edition of the Henley& Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI).
Results of the 2017 index were revealed in London on Tuesday.
The French nationality earned a score of 81.7 percent out of a possible 100 percent, slightly ahead of Germany, which was knocked off the top spot for the first time in seven years, with a score of 81.6 percent.
France’s comparative advantage lies in its greater Settlement Freedom in this year’s list. French passport holders can settle in, besides France, Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin.
According to the QNI, Indonesia is the fifth best nationality in Southeast Asia with a score of 29.1 percent and ranked overall 107th out of 168 countries surveyed in 2017. In fact, this ranking was much lower than 2016’s 105th rank with 28.8 percent score.
According to the ranking, Iceland and Denmark came in third and fourth place, respectively, while the Channel Islands, an archipelago in the English Channel, ranked the lowest at 168, and Somalia came in 167th position.
The index was co-created by constitutional and citizenship law professor Dimitry Kochenov from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and Dr. Christian H. Kälin, chairman of Henley & Partners.
Kochenov is currently chairs the Investment Migration Council, Geneva, while Kälin is considered one of the world’s foremost experts in investment migration and citizenship-by-investment, a field he pioneered.
The QNI, perhaps, is the only index in the world that objectively measures and ranks all the world’s nationalities based on quality of life and external values attached to each of country’s citizenship, such as legal statuses through which citizens can develop their talents and businesses.
“Firstly, the QNI proves that one cannot possibly be correct in stating that all nationalities and passports are equally good,” Kochenov said in the report.
“Some nationalities are radically better than others. Being born French gives one a huge advantage over the liability brought about by a Somalian nationality, for example.”
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According to the QNI, Indonesia is the fifth best nationality in Southeast Asia with a score of 29.1 percent and ranked overall 107th out of 168 countries surveyed in 2017
According to Kochenov, the key premise of the QNI is that it is possible to compare the relative worth of nationalities as opposed to simply that of states.
“In today’s globalized world, the legal status of millions of nationals extends their opportunities and desires far beyond their countries of origin; the confines of the state are simply not the limit of their ambitions and expectations,” he said.
“Using a sophisticated combination of quantifiable data derived from leading international institutions and experts, including the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Air Transport Association, the QNI measures the internal value of nationality, which refers to the quality of life and opportunities for personal growth within our country of origin, as well as the external value of nationality, which identifies the diversity and quality of opportunities that our nationality allows us to pursue outside our country of origin.”
Indonesia’s rank may be lower at 107th, but the city state of Singapore has a much better ranking than the archipelagic nation. Likewise, China and Liechtenstein have huge differences in size and quality of their nationalities.
“The QNI proves that it is not true that the most prosperous and economically important countries endow their citizens with the best nationalities. While China is an economic giant, its nationality has a very modest objective value. And while Liechtenstein (14th rank) has a micro-economy compared to that of China, its nationality is world-leading. Some nationalities are great, while others are quite simply terrible. Now, we can see which is which,” Kochenov said in the study.
China ranked 59th on the index, a slight improvement from last year’s ranking of 57th. The world’s superpower, the United States, did not earn a better rank as it ended up in 27th place. This was mainly, according to the QNI, due to its low Settlement Freedom compared to several European Union states. The United Kingdom stood just at 13th place due to its decision to leave the EU.
The rising star of this year is the United Arab Emirates, which ranked 46th position and climbed 13 places during the last five years. It is the first Arab country to beat Israel, which stood at 48th position.
Meanwhile, Kälin says the QNI is highly relevant to individuals interested in understanding the circumstances associated with their nationality, as well as to governments looking to improve the local, regional and global reach of the nationalities they provide.
“It is clear that our nationalities have a direct impact on our opportunities and on our freedom to travel, do business, and live longer, healthier and more rewarding lives,” Kälin said in the report.
Henley & Partners is a global leader in residence and citizenship planning. It provides it expertise and experience to hundreds of wealthy individuals and their advisors in residence, and citizenship planning. It has 30 regional offices worldwide, including in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi.
The concept of residence and citizenship planning was created by Henley & Partners in the 1990s.
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Key findings of the 3rd edition
- French nationality stands at the top of the QNI General Ranking, with a score of 81.7%, while Somalian nationality lies at the bottom, with 13.4%.
- The global mean this year was 39.28%, an incremental decrease from last year’s average of 39.32%.
- In 13th place, the UK narrowly misses the top 10 but still makes it into the Extremely High Quality tier, with a score of 78.2%.
- The US has again only managed to secure a spot in the Very High Quality tier, but it did increase its position by two ranks, claiming 27th place and scoring 69.4%.
- 26 nationalities fall in the Extremely High Quality tier (75% and above); 23 nationalities fall in the Very High Quality tier (between 50% and 74.99%); 50 nationalities fall in the High Quality tier (between 35% and 49.99%); 96 nationalities fall in the Medium Quality tier (between 20.00% and 34.99%); and 14 nationalities fall in the Low Quality tier (below 19.99%).
- Malta and Latvia moved down from Extremely High Quality to Very High Quality; Andorra moved up from High Quality to Very High Quality; Ukraine and Georgia moved up from Medium Quality to High Quality; Qatar moved down from High Quality to Medium Quality; and Djibouti moved up from Low Quality to Medium Quality.
Top risers 2016–2017
- Georgian nationality experienced a spectacular rise of 20 positions, from 104th position in last year’s General Ranking to 84th position this year. Its improved ranking was mainly caused by a significant increase in visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel destinations, linked to its 2017 visa-waiver with the Schengen Area.
- Ukrainian nationality experienced a similar dramatic rise, from 99th position in 2016 to 80th position in 2017, also as a result of visa-liberalization with the Schengen Area. Consequently, Ukrainian nationality is moving back up toward the positions it occupied in the 2013 and 2014 QNI General Rankings (75th place with 32.8% in 2013, and 79th place with 32.3% in 2014), although the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine continues to compromise the nationality’s Peace and Stability score.
- In the Seychelles, Human Development increased slightly, and the country gained five additional visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel destinations. As a result, Seychelles nationality’s value increased by 2.6%. Gaining six positions, it entered the top 50 of the 2017 General Ranking in 49th position.
- In 2016, Emirati nationality made a significant leap forward when its holders received visa-free travel access to the Schengen Area. United Arab Emirates nationality continued this trend in 2017 with an additional 10 visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel destinations, now boasting 130 such destinations in total and overtaking Israeli nationality as the best nationality in the region. As a result, it pushes further into the world’s top 50, moving from 49th place in 2016 to 46th place in 2017.
Biggest fallers 2016–2017
- Qatari nationality suffered substantially from the country’s diplomatic conflict with Saudi Arabia and its allies. The Gulf states de facto suspended the application of the Gulf Cooperation Council legal framework to Qatar last year, which reduced the value of Qatari nationality from 37.7% (70th place) to 34.1% (87th place) — a remarkable freefall.
- Iraqi nationality dropped 15 places, from 150th position (18.6%) to 165th position (15.1%). With Peace and Stability remaining equally poor last year, a large number of countries introduced travel restrictions for Iraqis, which caused the nationality’s Diversity of Travel Freedom to drop from 27 to only nine visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel destinations.
- Republic of the Congo nationality (Brazzaville) fell in value from 21.3% in 2016 to 20.5% in 2017. The nationality’s 11-position drop is linked to a decrease in Peace and Stability as well as a decrease in visa-free and visa-on-arrival travel destinations. Overall, Congolese nationality dropped from 143rd position in last year’s edition to 154th position this year.
- Kuwaiti nationality experienced a modest loss in value in 2017, which did, however, result in a 10-position drop in the General Ranking, partly because other nationalities simply performed better. With its external value remaining roughly equal, the level of Human Development in Kuwait decreased slightly, and the level of Peace and Stability decreased measurably. Kuwaiti nationality fell from 72nd place (37.0%) to 82nd place (35.7%), further reinforcing its downward trend over the past five years.
