According to the passport information statistics website passportindex, there are currently 199 countries and regions that issue passports worldwide, which means there are 199 different types of passports. However, although these passports have subtle color differences such as grass green, sea blue, and burgundy, the 199 passports that seem to be in various colors actually have only four main colors: red, green, blue, and black. Each color has its corresponding geographical, political, and even religious reasons behind it.
Red
From the orange-red of Singapore to the rose red of Cyprus, the wine red of EU countries, and the dark red of Seychelles, there are a total of 68 countries and regions that use red as the color of their passports.
Apart from Croatia's deep blue that is almost black, EU countries choose wine red for their passports. Some say it is due to the influence of the past communist history. The UK's passport was originally wine red, but after making the decision to leave the EU, the UK announced in December last year that it would change the color of its passport back to the original blue to symbolize its sovereignty and independence. On the other hand, Turkey changed its passport from black to wine red to show its friendliness when it was trying to join the EU.
Outside Europe, countries that use red for their passports include Singapore, Japan, Cambodia, which have a history of being colonized, and the Andean Community countries in South America, Peru and Colombia. An interesting point is that red passports have the highest visa-free entry effectiveness: among the 35 countries with the highest visa-free entry effectiveness, except for South Korea with green passports, the United States, Canada, Australia and Iceland with blue passports, and New Zealand with black passports, the remaining 30 countries all have red passports.
Green
The passports of Egypt, Vietnam, Mexico, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast are all green, and there is no specific reason for this. However, for Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco and Burkina Faso, the choice of green for their passports is clearly of religious significance - green was the Prophet Muhammad's favorite color and is also associated with paradise in the Quran. Green holds a lofty position and has appeared on the flags of many Islamic countries, so it is natural for it to become the color of their passports.
Blue
The family of blue passports is the largest. Blue is the most widely used color for passports in the world, with 78 countries and regions using it. This includes countries and regions that were once colonized by the United Kingdom, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong, as well as many countries in Africa and Central and South America, and some island nations. According to The Daily Telegraph of the UK, blue is a symbol of these New World countries.
Black
Although black is the most dirt-resistant color, there are not many countries or regions with black passports. Currently, there are only 10. Besides Trinidad and Tobago, Tajikistan, Palestine, New Zealand and the Dominican Republic, the remaining five countries are all located in southern Africa. However, black passports are indeed rare. Of course, if you see more black passport holders than you expect, there is another possibility that they are diplomatic personnel, as many countries make their diplomatic passports black.
The color of a passport is chosen by each country itself, but some specific standards must be followed. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) stipulates that all passports must be 125mm long and 88mm wide, must comply with the internationally accepted machine-readable standards, and the electronic chips implanted in the passports must also use the same technology.
Image sources: zafigo, passportindex, yoti, africa-facts, propakistani
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