Singapore, July 23 -- Singaporeans still hold the world's most powerful passport, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations out of 227 globally, according to the latest Henley Passport Index released on July 22.

The country retained its first-place ranking despite a slight dip from 195 destinations in the January edition of the index.

Singapore lost visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to Pakistan and Mauritania in West Africa after both switched from visa-on-arrival to e-visa systems.

E-visas, unlike visa-on-arrival arrangements, require travelers to obtain approval before departure and are not counted as visa-free access in the index.

This reduced Singapore's tally by two points, but it retained its lead, as other ...