Maybe you are holding the most powerful Passport, who knows? unless read this.
Following the crowded race among nations competing for the leading position in 2024, with at least six countries enjoying equal visa-free global access, the competition has significantly diminished in 2025. The effects of significant wars, political turmoil, and climate issues remain influential in the statuses and accessibility of numerous nations and the rights of their citizens to travel. This year’s Henley Index reveals the extent of it.
Just as fireworks are dependable at midnight to welcome January 1st, the new year also introduces the yearly results of the Henley Passport Index. Utilizing distinctive Timatic data from the largest and most precise travel information database, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) corroborated by internal research, ranks all 199 of the world’s most powerful passports according to the number of 227 global travel destinations they allow visa-free entry to.
The Five Most Influential Passports
In 2025, Singapore has regained its title as the world’s strongest passport, allowing visa-free entry to an impressive 195 of the 227 international locations featured in the ranking. This creates a distinct advantage over second-placed Japan, which now allows entry to 193 destinations visa-free, including China for the first time since the worldwide travel restrictions.
After jointly holding the top position in 2024, the EU countries of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain all fall two places to jointly occupy third place. Finland and South Korea accompany them, with all six passports enabling visa-free travel in 2025 to 192 locations.
The fourth position is also crowded, featuring a group of seven EU nations that provide access to 191 destinations without requiring a visa. These comprise Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
Completing the top five ranked locations are Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK, and moving beyond Europe, New Zealand, all of which permit travel to 190 destinations without a visa. This signifies yet another decline for the U.K. specifically, which has experienced significant fluctuations and loss in its passport power over the past decade, departing from its former long-standing top position.
U.S. ranks as one of the largest drop-offs in the globe’s most potent passports.
The U.S. passport is noticeably missing from the top five, currently ranking ninth—a substantial decline from its usual first or second place a decade ago. Currently, holders of U.S. passports can travel to 186 destinations without needing a visa in advance.
To provide context, out of the 199 passports globally, merely 22 have fallen in rank over the past ten years. The U.S. ranks as the second largest dropper, surpassed only by Venezuela (45th), and just ahead of the small island of Vanuatu (54th), while the UK and Canada have slipped from fourth to seventh.
In contrast, the largest risers in the rankings over the past ten years include the UAE, which has become the first and only Arab nation to break into the top ten of the passport power index. Since 2015, it has gained visa-free access to 72 additional destinations and has risen 32 positions to complete the passport power top ten with 185 international destinations.
China has also climbed from a lowly 94th place in 2015 to 60th by 2025. The global superpower has also improved its standing on the Henley Openness Index, which evaluates all 199 countries and territories globally based on the number of nationalities they allow entry to without needing a visa in advance. In the past year, China has offered visa-free entry to 29 additional countries, now ranking 80th with visa-free access for 58 nations. In contrast, the U.S. holds the 84th position, granting visa-free access to citizens from only 46 nations.
Significantly, U.S. citizens currently hold the top position in requests for second citizenship and alternative residency. They represent an astonishing 21% of all applications for investment migration programs submitted to Henley in 2024.
The Weakest Passports globally
Afghanistan remains anchored at the bottom of the Henley Index in 2025. The loss of visa-free access to two additional destinations in 2024 has resulted in the biggest mobility gap in the index’s 19-year history. To provide context, possessing a Singaporean passport grants you access to 169 additional global destinations without needing a visa compared to an Afghan passport holder.
Here’s the top ten ranking for the world’s most powerful passports in 2025, or take a look at the full ranking.
1. Singapore: 195
2. Japan: 193
3. France: 192
3. Germany: 192
3. Spain: 192
3. Italy: 192
3. South Korea: 192
3. Finland: 192
4. Sweden: 191
4. Austria: 191
4. Denmark: 191
4. Netherlands: 191
4. Ireland: 191
4. Luxembourg: 191
4. Norway: 191
5. Portugal: 190
5. Switzerland: 190
5. United Kingdom: 190
5. Belgium: 190
5. New Zealand: 190
6. Greece: 189
6. Australia: 189
7. Malta: 188
7. Canada: 188
7. Poland: 188
8. Czechia: 187
9. Estonia: 186
9. United States: 186
9. Latvia: 186
9. Hungary: 186
10. Lithuania: 185
10. Slovenia: 185
10. Latvia: 185
10. United Arab Emirates: 185
