February 2026 Data Update: Fresh Rankings Analysis
We've just completed a comprehensive update of our passport rankings database with fresh data from IATA Timatic API. Here's what changed in global mobility over the past three weeks.
📊Update Overview
🌍 Data Collection Process
This update represents a complete refresh of our database, querying the IATA Timatic API for 40,200 unique passport-destination combinations. The entire scraping process took approximately 2 hours, with checkpoints saved every 50 batches to ensure data integrity.
Data Quality Metrics
- ✓Success Rate: 97.8% of queries returned valid data
- ✓API Reliability: Automatic token refresh every 2 minutes
- ✓Error Handling: 3-attempt retry logic with exponential backoff
- ℹKnown Issues: Moldova endpoints continue to return HTTP 500 errors
📈 Top Movers: Biggest Changes
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🏆 Top 10 Passports (February 2026)
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🔄 Methodology Notes
Our scoring system uses weighted multipliers to reflect real-world travel convenience:
- Visa-Free: 1.0× (walk through immigration freely)
- Visa on Arrival: 0.8× (queue, fees, paperwork at border)
- eTA/eVisa: 0.7× (online application, waiting period)
- Visa Required: 0.0× (embassy visit, significant barrier)
🔮 What's Next
We've also updated our automated CI/CD pipeline to run weekly data updates every Monday at 3 AM UTC. This ensures our rankings stay current with global visa policy changes. The next automatic update will run on February 17, 2026.
For technical details about our data pipeline and methodology, check out our methodology page or explore the full rankings table.