Passport statistics track where travel demand is rising and how governments are adjusting identity and processing systems. In 2023, 45% of passports issued in the US went to first-time applicants aged 16 to 50, a clear signal of a younger cohort entering the system. Globally, 60% of passports are held by urban residents under 40, pointing to concentrated travel appetite in the cities.
Key Takeaways
- In US, 45% of passports issued in 2023 were to first-time applicants aged 16-50
- First passport issued by US Department of State was to Phineas Jenks on May 12, 1780
- In 2023, the United States Department of State issued a record 17.8 million passport books and cards combined
- Modern passports incorporate e-passports with RFID chips compliant with ICAO Doc 9303 standards since 2006
- In 2023, global passport issuance reached 130 million amid post-COVID travel surge
Passport statistics reveal steady growth, helping governments and travelers plan more effectively year to year.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographics19 stats
01
In US, 45% of passports issued in 2023 were to first-time applicants aged 16-50
02
Globally, 60% of passports are held by urban residents under 40 years old
03
In India, 55% of 2023 passport applicants were women, up 15% from 2018
04
UK's passport holders are 52% female, with 30% aged 16-24 in 2023
05
China's passport ownership is 10% of population, highest among 25-35 urban males
06
In Germany, 70% of citizens over 18 hold passports, skewed to higher income 80%
07
Japan's passport penetration is 25% nationally, 80% in Tokyo metro area
08
France sees 40% of issuances to 18-30 year olds, 48% female
09
Brazil's passport holders are 5% of population, 60% from southeast states
10
Australia's 1.7 million issuances in 2023: 51% female, 35% under 30
11
Canada: 55% of passports to millennials (25-40), urban concentration 75%
12
South Korea: 90% of 20-39 year olds hold passports in 2023
13
Italy: 50% female applicants, 28% seniors over 65 renewing
14
Spain: 62% from Madrid/Barcelona metro, 53% female
15
Mexico: 65% issuances to 18-45 age group in urban areas
16
Turkey: 40% new passports to under 25s, family clusters 70%
17
Russia: 55% urban holders, 45% female in 2023 data
18
Saudi Arabia: 70% male holders due to labor migration
19
UAE: 80% expatriates use passports, nationals 95% coverage
Interpretation
Demographics Interpretation
Across these country and global figures, passports are clearly most concentrated among younger, urban, and often higher-participation groups, such as 60% held by urban residents under 40 worldwide and 45% of 2023 US passports going to first-time applicants aged 16 to 50.
02 · Category
Historical23 stats
01
First passport issued by US Department of State was to Phineas Jenks on May 12, 1780
02
British passports originated in 1775 during American Revolutionary War
03
ICAO standardized machine-readable passports (MRP) in 1980, adopted by 120 countries by 1990
04
World's first biometric passport issued by Malaysia in 1998
05
US transitioned to e-passports on August 17, 2007
06
EU mandated biometric passports from 2006 under Regulation 2252/2004
07
China's first MRP issued in 1987, e-passport in 2012
08
India's passport issuance surged 300% from 1 million in 2000 to 12 million in 2023
09
France issued its first modern passport in 1920 post-WWI
10
Germany's passport law dates to 1913, with 5.2 million issued pre-WWII
11
Japan's passport system formalized in 1929, with 1 million issued by 1939
12
Australia's first passports issued in 1918, digitized in 2005
13
Canada's passport act of 1921 led to 100,000 issuances by 1930
14
Brazil's passports evolved from 1969 law, biometric since 2014
15
South Africa's first colored passport issued in 1994 post-apartheid
16
Russia's modern passports trace to 1997 law, replacing Soviet docs
17
Saudi Arabia introduced e-passports in 2010, issuing 10 million by 2020
18
UAE unified passport design in 1972, biometric in 2006
19
Turkey's chip passports launched in 2017, replacing 50 million old ones
20
Mexico's laser-etched passports started in 2006
21
Pakistan digitized passports in 2003, MRP fully by 2008
22
Nigeria's e-passport introduced 2007, with 20 million issued by 2020
23
Egypt's biometric passports rolled out 2021
Interpretation
Historical Interpretation
For the historical story of passports, the move from early national issuance to global technology is clear as US documents began in 1780 and, by 1990, ICAO’s 1980 machine readable standard was adopted by 120 countries before biometric passports accelerated with Malaysia issuing the first in 1998 and the EU mandating them in 2006.
03 · Category
Issuance30 stats
01
In 2023, the United States Department of State issued a record 17.8 million passport books and cards combined
02
The US issued 10.2 million passport books in fiscal year 2022, marking a 34% increase from 2021
03
Globally, over 120 million passports are issued annually by various countries
04
China issued 14.7 million passports in 2019 before pandemic restrictions
05
In the UK, 11.8 million passports were valid as of 2023, with 2.5 million new issuances
06
India issued 12.5 million passports in 2022-2023, a 25% rise from previous year
07
Germany processed 5.2 million passport applications in 2022
08
Japan renewed 3.1 million passports in 2023 amid travel rebound
09
France issued 4.8 million passports in 2023
10
Brazil saw 2.9 million passport issuances in 2022
11
Australia issued 1.7 million passports in 2022-2023 financial year
12
Canada processed 2.4 million passport applications in 2023
13
South Korea issued 4.1 million passports in 2023
14
Italy renewed 3.5 million passports in 2022
15
Spain issued 3.2 million passports in 2023
16
Mexico processed 1.8 million passport applications in 2022
17
Turkey issued 7.2 million passports in 2022
18
Russia renewed 4.5 million passports in 2023 despite sanctions
19
Saudi Arabia issued 2.1 million passports in 2023
20
UAE processed 1.9 million passport services in 2022
21
South Africa issued 1.2 million passports in 2022/23
22
Nigeria saw 1.5 million passport applications in 2023
23
Pakistan issued 2.8 million passports in 2022-2023
24
Bangladesh processed 2.3 million machine-readable passports in 2023
25
Philippines renewed 1.6 million passports in 2023
26
Thailand issued 3.4 million passports in 2022
27
Vietnam saw 2.7 million passport issuances in 2023
28
Indonesia processed 4.9 million passports in 2022
29
Egypt issued 1.4 million passports in 2023
30
Argentina renewed 2.1 million passports in 2022
Interpretation
Issuance Interpretation
Passport issuance is surging worldwide, with the US issuing a record 17.8 million passport books and cards in 2023 and 10.2 million passport books in fiscal year 2022 a 34% jump from 2021, while countries like the UK and India also report millions of new issuances.
More related reading
04 · Category
Security25 stats
01
Modern passports incorporate e-passports with RFID chips compliant with ICAO Doc 9303 standards since 2006
02
Biometric passports store facial image, fingerprints, and iris scans in encrypted chips for 99.9% verification accuracy
03
Over 150 countries have issued biometric passports by 2023, covering 80% of global air travelers
04
US e-passports use PKI with 2048-bit RSA keys for digital signatures since 2007
05
EU passports feature polycarbonate data pages resistant to tampering, introduced in 2021
06
Laser-engraved photos in passports reduce forgery by 95% compared to ink printing
07
Holographic images and optically variable ink are standard in 90% of passports for UV detection
08
Guilloche patterns with microprinting under 0.2mm size used in 120 countries' passports
09
Chip Basic Access Control (BAC) prevents unauthorized RFID skimming in 95% of e-passports
10
Extended Access Control (EAC) in German passports enables fingerprint matching with 1:1 million accuracy
11
UK's passports use rainbow printing with 400+ color combinations for anti-counterfeit
12
Australian SmartGate uses facial recognition matching 98.7% against e-passport chips
13
Canadian passports embed RF chips readable up to 10cm with PACE protocol since 2013
14
India's Aadhaar-linked passports verify identity with 99.5% biometric match rate
15
Brazil's passports include UV fluorescent inks visible only under blacklight
16
Japan's IC passports use FELICA chips with mutual authentication
17
South Africa's passports feature kinegrams shifting images under tilt
18
China's electronic passports store 68 facial minutiae points for recognition
19
Russian passports use optically variable devices (OVD) changing color from green to blue
20
Saudi e-passports comply with ICAO LDS 2.0 for iris and fingerprints storage
21
UAE's passports have latent images visible at 45-degree angle
22
Turkey's new passports use chip with 256-bit AES encryption
23
Mexico's passports include tactile printing for blind verification
24
Interpol's SLTD database holds 70 million lost/stolen passports as of 2023
25
Global passport forgery detections dropped 20% post-biometrics to 1.2 million in 2022
Interpretation
Security Interpretation
Security in passports has advanced rapidly, with e-passports using ICAO-compliant RFID chips since 2006 and biometric verification achieving 99.9% accuracy as over 150 countries issued them by 2023, covering 80% of global air travelers.
05 · Category
Visa Free30 stats
01
In 2023, global passport issuance reached 130 million amid post-COVID travel surge
02
Singapore's passport offers visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 195 destinations in 2024
03
Japan's passport ranks 2nd with 193 visa-free destinations in 2024 Henley Index
04
South Korea's passport provides access to 192 countries visa-free in 2024
05
Germany's passport allows visa-free travel to 191 destinations in 2024
06
UAE passport holders enjoy 184 visa-free accesses in 2024 ranking
07
US passport ranks 8th with 186 visa-free countries in 2024
08
UK's passport offers 187 visa-free destinations in 2024 Henley Index
09
France passport provides 192 visa-free travels in 2024
10
Italy's passport ranks 4th with 194 visa-free in 2024
11
Spain passport allows access to 192 countries visa-free in 2024
12
Canada's passport offers 185 visa-free destinations in 2024
13
Australia's passport ranks 7th with 187 visa-free in 2024
14
Netherlands passport provides 189 visa-free accesses in 2024
15
Sweden's passport allows 192 visa-free travels in 2024
16
Finland passport ranks 3rd with 193 visa-free in 2024
17
Ireland's passport offers 191 visa-free destinations in 2024
18
New Zealand passport provides 182 visa-free in 2024 Henley
19
Norway passport allows 189 visa-free countries in 2024
20
Switzerland passport ranks 6th with 190 visa-free in 2024
21
Austria passport offers 189 visa-free accesses in 2024
22
Denmark passport provides 191 visa-free in 2024
23
Portugal passport allows 188 visa-free destinations in 2024
24
Belgium passport ranks 5th with 190 visa-free in 2024
25
Greece passport offers 188 visa-free in 2024 Henley Index
26
Poland passport provides 184 visa-free countries in 2024
27
Hungary passport allows 181 visa-free accesses in 2024
28
Czech Republic passport offers 179 visa-free in 2024
29
Latvia passport ranks with 178 visa-free destinations in 2024
30
Lithuania passport provides 177 visa-free in 2024
Interpretation
Visa Free Interpretation
Under the Visa Free category, the 2024 Henley-style rankings show a tightly clustered advantage, with top passports ranging from 195 visa free destinations for Singapore down to 184 for the UAE, while global issuance climbed to 130 million in 2023 on the post COVID travel surge.
report visual · Comparison
Passport statistics: who holds and applies
Across countries, passport ownership and applications are concentrated by age, gender, and urban residence, with some markets also showing notable growth over time.
South Korea: 90% of 20-39 year olds hold passports in 202390%
In Germany, 70% of citizens over 18 hold passports, skewed to higher income 80%70%
Globally, 60% of passports are held by urban residents under 40 years old60%
In India, 55% of 2023 passport applicants were women, up 15% from 201855%
UK's passport holders are 52% female, with 30% aged 16-24 in 202352%
In US, 45% of passports issued in 2023 were to first-time applicants aged 16-5045%
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Passport Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/passport-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Passport Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/passport-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Passport Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/passport-statistics.
Sources & references
48 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level