The 2025 Henley Passport Index, which ranks all the world’s 199 passports according to the number of destinations they can access without a prior visa, lists Singapore as having the most powerful passport in the world with visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations worldwide. Japan is runner-up with a score of 193.
The Henley Passport Index is based on exclusive official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Several EU member states – France, Germany, Italy, and Spain – drop two places to 3rd position, and are joined by Finland and South Korea, which each lost a place over the past 12 months and now have access to 192 destinations visa-free. A seven-nation EU cohort, all with visa-free access to 191 destinations – Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden – share 4th place, while five countries – Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK – come in 5th with 190 visa-free destinations.
Afghanistan remains firmly entrenched at the bottom of the index, having lost visa-free access to a further two destinations over the past year, creating the largest mobility gap in the index’s 19-year history, with Singaporeans able to travel to 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghan passport holders.
The rest of the index’s Top 10 is largely dominated by European countries, except for Australia (6th place with 189 destinations), Canada (7th place with 188 destinations), the US (9th place with 186 destinations), and the UAE, one of the biggest climbers over the past decade, having secured an additional 72 destinations since 2015 to put it in 10th place with visa-free access to 185 destinations worldwide.
US and UK passports amongst the biggest fallers
Only 22 of the world’s 199 passports have fallen down the Henley Passport Index ranking over the past decade. Surprisingly, the US is the second-biggest faller between 2015 and 2025 after Venezuela, plummeting seven places from 2nd to its current 9th position. Vanuatu is the third-biggest faller, followed by the British passport, which was top of the index in 2015 but now sits in 5th place. Completing the Top 5 losers list is Canada, which dropped three ranks over the past decade from 4th to its current 7th place.
In contrast, China is among the biggest climbers, ascending from 94th place in 2015 to 60th in 2025, with its visa-free score increasing by 40 destinations. And in terms of its openness to other nations, China has also leapt up 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 granted visa-free access to a further 29 countries over the past year alone, and now sits in 80th position, granting visa-free entry to 58 nations, compared to its rival America, which ranks 84th and allows just 46 other countries access without a visa.
Top 10 most powerful passports
- Singapore (195 destinations)
- Japan (193 destinations)
- France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, South Korea (192 destinations)
- Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden (191 destinations)
- Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK (190 destinations)
- Australia (189 destinations)
- Canada (188 destinations)
- United States (186 destinations)
- UAE (185 destinations)