Ukrainian citizenship gained more value as the country leaped 19 positions up in the latest Quality of Nationality Index (QNI).
Published on April 20 for the seventh year in a row, the ranking measures objective factors of citizenship value based on various factors such as freedoms that citizens enjoy, economic development, political stability, and the ease of traveling abroad.
The ranking is compiled by Henley & Partners, a London-based citizenship and immigration firm, and Dimitry Kochenov, a professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands who specializes in citizenship law.
According to the ranking, the most valued nationality is French as it knocked long-standing leader Germany from the top position.
Ukraine now ranks 80th having moved up from 99th position. Ukraine had the same ranking back in 2011.
The country’s peak performance was when it held 74th position in 2013, right before the economic-political crisis hit and Russia waged its war in eastern Donbas and annexed the Crimean peninsula.
Although Ukraine is now closer to its pre-crisis level of quality of life, its rank in 2018 may be attributed to different reasons.
For example, Ukraine ousted disgraced president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. Despite slow economic growth at 2.2 percent last year, the country received a positive forecast from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund if Ukraine’s leaders fulfill their commitment in fighting corruption.
Also, Ukraine became the second post-Soviet country after Georgia that was granted visa-free travel to most of the European Union’s 28 member states in 2017. Ukraine also signed visa-free regime agreements with Qatar, Uruguay, and Peru earlier this year.
The Ukrainian passport now ranks 42nd in the world allowing its holders to travel freely to 118 countries across the globe, according to the passport power ranking produced by Henley & Partners.
Russia’s war and internal corruption still weaken Ukraine’s stability.
