At IOTA Group, we work with 79 nationalities, in more than 200 countries around the world. Since the company’s inception, we have coordinated more than 200,000 trips in 36 years. Often, these trips require obtaining a VISA, with a valid passport.
Consequently, several thousands of passports have passed through our hands, with covers in a range of different colors.
Have you ever wondered what the color of your passport means? We have, and here are the answers:
Beforehand, you should know that there are four main colors that are green, red, black, and blue. The color of the passport is nothing more nor less than the emblem of a government. Based on the country’s political and cultural preferences, as well as their belonging to a region of the world, it is the States themselves that define the color of the passport’s cover.
However, there is a wide range of shades of this precious document , not to mention the “special ones” for diplomats for example.
As, Hrant Boghossian, the vice president of marketing for Arton Capital, the finance consulting firm that created the Passeport Index, explains: “One and the same color can result in many shades. So there are actually a multitude of passport colors. ” But then how do countries choose their shades?
The green passport: The color of faith
Most Muslim countries have green passports because this color is considered as Prophet Muhammad’s favorite. A passage from the Quran mentions “green clothes worthy of the people of paradise”. In the Muslim religion, green is also a symbol of eternity.
Green also concerns several West African countries, such as Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal, as well as the members of Economic Community of West African States. (ECOWAS).
The red passport: a pigmented story
The red passport is the most popular in the world. The members of the European Union (except for Croatia) opted for bordeaux red in order to introduce “a common passport model for the countries of the European Union”. Note that the United Kingdom will regain its navy blue color from October 2019.
Historically communist regimes like China or Russia have also opted for this colorful choice. However, Cuba and Laos have navy blue passports. This is not an absolute truth.
The blue passport: The color of the new world
After red, blue is the second most common color in the world for passports. The Blue precious document represents the “new world”.
The countries of the American continent are particularly fond of the blue color. United States, Argentina, Costa Rica, El Salvador Brazil, Canada, Venezuela, Guatemala, Paraguay, Uruguay, … The list is long.
The black passport: A worldwide rarity
Black passports have adopted the rarest color. It is the choice of Malawi, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad & Tobago.
This is also the case of New Zealand for cultural reasons, because as many know from the All Blacks team, it’s the color of the country.
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