Singapore holds the crown as the world’s most powerful passport, with visa-free access to 193 destinations out of 227 globally, according to the latest Henley Passport Index. The index is powered by Timatic data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and ranks all the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a prior visa. Asian nations continue to lead the global mobility race, with Japan and South Korea sharing second place, each granting their citizens access to 190 destinations visa-free.
A strong European contingent occupies the rest of the Top 5. Seven EU passports share third place—Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain, all with access to 189 destinations. Another seven-nation European cohort, with visa-free entry to 188 destinations, are joint fourth—Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden—while New Zealand, the only nation to challenge the regional dominance, ties in fifth place with Greece and Switzerland.
At the other end of the global mobility spectrum, Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the ranking, with its citizens able to access just 25 destinations without a prior visa—a staggering mobility gap of 168 destinations between the top- and bottom-ranked passports.
Biggest risers and fallers
The U.S. and U.K. have each dropped a place in the global passport rankings since January, continuing a long-term downward trend. Once the most powerful passports in the world—the U.S. in 2014 and U.K. in 2015—they now rank sixth and 10th, respectively. The U.K. currently has visa-free access to 186 destinations, while the U.S. trails with 182. Notably, the U.S. is now on the brink of exiting the Top 10 altogether for the first time in the index’s 20-year history.
Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, the inventor of the passport index concept, says “Traditional mobility champions are losing ground in an increasingly multi-polar world. As emerging economies liberalize their visa regimes and invest in diplomatic capital, legacy powers like the U.K. and the U.S. appear to be retreating behind more restrictive entry policies.”
UAE and China lead passport power shift
A long-term retrospective view of the index reveals a general global shift towards increased openness, greater mobility, and rising passport strength. Over the past decade, more than 80 passports have climbed at least 10 places, and the global average number of destinations travelers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2025.
The UAE continues to be a standout among the top risers, shooting up 34 places over the past 10 years from 42nd to eighth place, making it the only big riser to break into the Top 10 in the ranking. Another notable winner is China, also rising 34 places from 94th to 60th since 2015—particularly impressive considering that, unlike other top risers, China has not yet gained visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen Area.
China’s rise has, however, been assisted by its significant move towards greater openness. According to the Henley Openness Index, which ranks all 199 countries worldwide according to the number of nationalities they permit entry to without a prior visa, China has granted visa-free access to over a dozen new passports since January, bringing its total openness score to 75 nations, a remarkable shift considering it allowed visa-free entry to fewer than 20 countries just five years ago.
Notable additions to China’s visa-free list in 2025 include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia—which means that citizens of all Gulf Cooperation Council countries can travel to China with no prior visa—as well as several South American nations including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. China’s granting of visa-free access to several European states over the past two years has also contributed to the dominance of European passports at the top of the Henley Passport Index, which measures the percentage of global GDP each passport provides to its holders visa-free.
IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh, says overall demand for air travel showed strong 5.8 percent growth over the first five months of 2025, with some regional variations. “Asia-Pacific airlines led the way with 9.5 percent growth. In North America, international traffic grew by 1.8 percent, but this was offset by a 1 percent contraction in the domestic market, leaving demand effectively flat over the period. Importantly, despite economic and geopolitical uncertainties, consumer confidence appears to be strong, with robust forward bookings for the peak Northern summer travel season giving good reason for optimism.”
Legacy powers lose ground in global mobility race
Looking at the past decade, with so many passports gaining power and rising on the Henley Passport Index, only 16 have fallen in rank. The biggest faller is Venezuela, which plunged 15 places from 30th to 45th, followed the U.S. (down eight places), Vanuatu (down six places), the U.K. (down five places) and Canada (down four places).
This downward shift in rankings underscores a broader trend: traditional mobility champions are losing ground in an increasingly multi-polar world. As emerging economies liberalize their visa regimes and invest in diplomatic capital, legacy powers such as the U.K. and the U.S. appear to be retreating behind more restrictive entry policies.
For more information, visit www.henleyglobal.com.
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