The Quality of Nationality Index

Published by Hart, the Kälin – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI) ranks the objective value of all nationalities as legal statuses of attachment to states. Using a wide variety of strictly quantifiable data to gauge the opportunities presented and limitations imposed by nationalities on their holders, the QNI provides a comprehensive ranking of the intrinsic quality of each citizenship status of the world.

Both the internal value (economic opportunities, human development, and peace and stability) and the external value (including the number and quality of visa-free travel and, crucially, settlement destinations) of all the nationalities of the world are measured, only to reveal the reality that the quality of nationalities is not correlated with the prestige of the issuing states.

The reality that the QNI describes is regrettable in many respects: in most cases our nationality plays an important role in establishing a highly arbitrary ceiling, one that determines our opportunities and aspirations. This ceiling reflects the core aspect of being a national of some specific place: nationality is based on a random act of birth that bears no correlation to any person’s achievements, ideas, feelings, and desires — instead, it is the result of a ‘birthright lottery’, in the memorable phrase of Ayelet Shachar.

This is something that the designers of the QNI do not endorse but nevertheless observe as part of the day-to-day global reality and that the Index aims to document. The QNI, updated annually, is the source of a dynamic understanding of the quality of world nationalities as measured by a set of clear and transparent criteria.

The QNI will be of interest to anyone who is curious about how their nationality performs in comparison to other nationalities and about the local, regional, and global opportunities and limitations associated with their nationality. The Index is of particular significance to financially independent individuals who wish to acquire the benefits of an alternative citizenship, who can use the QNI as a reference tool when selecting the most valuable second or third nationality for themselves and their families.

The QNI is the result of successful cooperation between Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, and Prof. Dr. Dimitry Kochenov, a legal academic who has been writing about citizenship and teaching nationality and immigration law and policy for more than a decade. The first Hart Publishing edition of the QNI was co-edited by Prof. Kochenov and Mr. Justin Lindeboom.