German citizens now hold the most powerful passport in the world, according to new findings.

The rankings were created by Henley & Partners, a citizenship and planning firm, who based their research on how many countries can be visited without applying for a visa.

While New Zealand failed to rank in the top five of powerful passports, it did come out with a power ranking of seven, with 171 visa-free countries to visit.

German passport holders can visit 177 out of a possible 218.

Second on the list is Sweden (176) while United Kingdom passports (175) and US (176) came third and fourth on the list.

The UK did top the list in 2015, but conceded the top spot after several countries relaxed visa restrictions.

Afghanistan topped the list of least powerful, with only 25-visa free visits allowed. Pakistan (29) and Iraq (30) round out the top three.

MOST POWERFUL PASSPORTS

1.Germany, 177
2.Sweden, 176
3.Finland, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, 175
4.Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, United States, 174
5.Austria, Japan, Singapore, 173
6.Canada, Ireland (Republic of), Korea (Republic of, South), Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, 172
7.Greece, New Zealand, 171
8.Australia, 169
9.Malta, 168
10.Hungary, Czech Republic, Iceland, 167

LEAST POWERFUL PASSPORTS

1.Afghanistan, 25
2.Pakistan, 29
3.Iraq, 30
4.Somalia, 31
5.Syria, 32
6.Libya, 36
7.Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Nepal, Palestinian Territory, Sudan, 37
8.Kosovo, South Sudan, Yemen, 38
9.Bangladesh, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Lebanon, Sri Lanka, 39
10.Burundi, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of, North), Myanmar, 42

- stuff.co.nz