Singapore has the most powerful passport in the world, according to the 2025 Henley Passport Index.
The nation-state was one of six countries to tie for first place in 2024 on a list compiled by migration consultancy Henley & Partners, which ranks passports by the number of destinations holders can access without the need for a visa.
Singapore surged ahead of five other countries – Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and France – with its citizens gaining visa-free access to 195 of the world’s 227 destinations, according to a ranking released on Wednesday.
Japan is ranked No. 2, with visa-free access for 193 places, while the four European countries that tied for first place last year, plus Finland and South Korea, share third place, each giving passport holders the ability to visit 192 destinations without visa requirements.
Countries in Europe, plus New Zealand, dominate the rest of the top 20 list.
The Henley Passport Index uses data from the International Air Transport Association to rank 199 passports worldwide.
“Visa-free,” according to the index, includes situations where no visa is required or when more easily obtained entry documents are required, such as visas on arrival, visitor permits and electronic travel authorizations.
Climbers and Fallers
The United Arab Emirates is one of the “biggest climbers” on the list, according to a press release, having gained visa-free access to 72 destinations in the past decade, for a total of 185 destinations worldwide.
Just behind the United States, whose citizens can visit 186 places without a visa, according to the ranking.
The US is one of 22 places where passports have fallen in the index over the past 10 years, it said.
“Surprisingly, the US is the second biggest drop between 2015 and 2025 after Venezuela, plummeting seven places from 2nd to its current 9th place,” the statement said.
Passports from the UK – which topped the list in 2015 – and Canada also fell, it said.
According to Henley Openness Index.
Bottom of the list
Afghanistan is again considered the weakest passport on the list. It ranked last because it only provided access to 26 out of 227 destinations. Its citizens can visit places like Cambodia, Maldives, Djibouti, Sri Lanka and Haiti without the need to obtain a visa.
The gap between the strongest and weakest passports on the list is the largest in the index’s 19-year history, according to Henley & Partners. Singaporeans can visit 169 more places than Afghans without the need for a visa, it said.
After Afghanistan, the weakest passports on the list are those from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Nepal, the Palestinian territories, Libya and Bangladesh, each of which is below North Korea, whose citizens can visit 41 destinations worldwide, according to the ranking.
