The latest update to the Henley Passport Index shows that Singapore reclaimed its crown as the most powerful passport in the world with visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations worldwide.
Likewise, Japan remains the runner-up with a score of 193, according to the index which ranks all the world’s 199 passports according to the number of destinations they can access without a prior visa.
The rankings are based on official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The current index shows France, Germany, Italy, and Spain fell by two places to third position, joining Finland and South Korea, which each lost a place over the past 12 months with access to 192 destinations visa-free.
Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden are all in fourth place with access to 191 destinations.
Countries such as Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK hold fifth place with 190 visa-free destinations.
Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the index, having lost access to two more destinations, creating the largest mobility gap in the index’s 19-year history, with Singaporeans enjoying access to 169 more destinations than Afghan passport holders.
The rest of the Top 10 is primarily composed of European countries, with Australia (sixth with 189), Canada (seventh with 188), the US (ninth with 186), and the UAE climbing significantly over the past decade to secure tenth place with access to 185 destinations.
Climbers and Droppers
Only 22 of the 199 passports have dropped in ranking in the past decade.
Surprisingly, the US is the second-biggest faller between 2015 and 2025, dropping from second to ninth position after Venezuela.
Vanuatu follows as the third-largest faller, while the British passport has fallen from first to fifth place since 2015.
Among the main winners, China has greatly improved its position from 94th to 60th after increasing visa-free access by 40 destinations.
China has also made strides in the Henley Openness Index, improving its ability to grant access without a prior visa to 58 nations, ranking higher than the US, which permits access to only 46 countries without a visa.
