According to the 2025 Henley Passport Index, Singapore has the most powerful passport in the world.
The nation-state was one of six countries tied for the top spot in 2024 on a list compiled by immigration consultancy Henley & Partners. This list ranks passports by the number of destinations the holder can access without a visa.
According to the rankings released on Wednesday, Singapore outranked five other countries (Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and France) to give its citizens visa-free access to 195 of the world’s 227 destinations.
Japan ranks second with visa-free access to 193 spots. Meanwhile, Finland and South Korea have been added to the four European countries that were tied for the top spot last year to share third place, each allowing passport holders to visit. Travel to 192 destinations without a visa.
European countries and New Zealand make up the rest of the top 20 list.
The Henley Passport Index uses data from the International Air Transport Association to rank 199 passports around the world.
According to the index, ‘visa-free’ includes situations where a visa is not required or where an easily obtained entry document such as a visa on arrival, visit permit or electronic travel authority is required.
climber and faller
The United Arab Emirates is one of the “largest mountaineering countries” on the list, having gained visa-free access to 72 destinations in the past 10 years, for a total of 185 destinations, according to a press release.
The ranking puts it just behind the United States, which allows its citizens to visit 186 places without a visa.
According to the report, the United States is one of 22 countries whose passport index has declined over the past decade.
“Astonishingly, the United States experienced the second-largest decline after Venezuela from 2015 to 2025, plummeting seven spots from second place to current ninth place,” the release states.
Passports from the UK and Canada, which topped the list in 2015, have also declined.
China will rise in the rankings and will be ranked 60th in 2025. Openness to other countries has also increased significantly, with Henry reporting that China now allows visa-free visits for citizens from 58 destinations, half of which were added last year. Openness index.
bottom of list
Afghanistan was once again considered to have the weakest passport on the list. It ranked last because it only allowed access to 26 of 227 destinations. Citizens can visit countries such as Cambodia, Maldives, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, and Haiti without obtaining 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. It says Singaporeans can visit 169 more places without a visa than Afghans.
After Afghanistan, the weakest passports are those from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Nepal, the Palestinian Territories, Libya, and Bangladesh, all of which rank below North Korea and whose citizens are the most popular countries in the world. It is said that you can visit 41 destinations inside. Ranking.
