By Aaron Rockwell, Staff Data Cruncher

Using import.io data extractor (genius tool for grabbing large sets of table data from websites), I was able to grab 37,000 lines of visa data from Wikipedia. Here’s what the world of visas look like:

South Koreans “Travel-Banned:”

South Koreans have “travel-banned” their citizens from five of the seven countries that America has “admission-refused:”  Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Libya, and Iraq. But not: Iran and Sudan. Curiously enough, South Korea has had this ban intact since 2014.

Why not ban your citizens from going to Sudan, South Korea? Oh yeah, you bought vast tracts of land there to grow wheat (2.7 billion square meters). I’m not informed enough to decided whether it’s neocolonialism or beneficial foreign investment. I do believe in the power of free trade.

Who’s not playing well together:

Visa information is telling on which countries in the world are not getting along. Top refusals: 16 countries refuse admission to Israeli citizens,  4 countries refuse Guinean citizens, and 3 countries refuse Sierra Leonean citizens.

Delicious visa stats:

Beyond travel bans and admission refusal, country entry processes typically fall under four categories: visa not required, eVisa, visa on arrival, and visa required.

With 70% of countries’ admission requiring a visa, it can be assumed it’s great for a country’s security, or more likely, it’s a cash cow. The real question would be whether the money gained from visa entry costs offsets the money lost from disincentivizing folks from traveling to said country (that good tourist money).

5 easiest and most difficult countries for their citizens to travel:

Singapore visa requirements:

Grey = Visa Required, Courtesy: wikipedia.org

Afghanistan visa requirements:

Courtesy: wikipedia.org

Do countries with lower visa entry requirements have higher GDPs?

I tested this hypothesis assuming that there would be a strong correlation between the amount of “Visas Not Required” and the GDP of the country. It did exist (-0.239), saying that the more open your country is, the higher its GDP. Though it looks like a small correlation, with a sample size of 37,000, it is significant.

How reciprocal are visa relationships?

Incredibly. Countries reciprocate their visa policies: (29166 / 35736) = 81.6% of the time. This goes back to the concept of, if you want to be invited to parties and events, you have to occasionally throw parties and events and invite other people.

Who are country “best friends” when it comes to visa policy?

Here are the top 6 countries whose visa policies pair up nearly 100% on “required visa” and “not required visa.” There appears to be a visa love triangle between Sweden, Finland, and Italy.

Who pairs up best with America?