by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 11:10 AM ET, Wed January 8, 2025
The 2025 Henley Passport Index is here to tell us which countries boast the world’s most powerful passports—and which ones are the most restrictive.
The Passport Index, which ranks all 199 passports based on how many destinations to which they provide visa-free access, uses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The Most Powerful Passports of 2025
This year, Singapore passports are once again the most powerful in the world, with visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations across the globe.
In second place is another Asian country: Japan. With visa-free travel to 193 countries, including China, Japanese passports remain one of the most powerful.
Third place is tied between four different countries in the European Union along with two others: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland and South Korea all rank third, offering visa-free access to 192 destinations.
Seven nations within the European Union all tie in fourth place, each offering access to 191 destinations without a visa. These are Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. In fifth place are five countries, with access to 190 destinations: Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the UK.
Where The United States Ranks
US passport. (Photo Credit: yobab/Adobe)
The United States ranks 9th globally, with access to 186 destinations without a need for a visa. It saw the second-largest drop (after Venezuela) between 2015 and 2025. Back in 2015, it held second place. Only 22 countries' passports dropped in rankings during the past decade—Canada and the UK have also dropped.
Interestingly, US nationals are the single largest demographic applying for alternative residence and citizenship, comprising 21 percent of all investment migration program applications. Wealth migration is a growing trend globally, which Henley & Partners expects to grow in 2025.
“Even before the advent of a second Trump presidency, American political trends had become notably inward-looking and isolationist,” said Annie Pforzheimer, Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Even though US economic health relies heavily on immigration, tourism, and trade, voters during the 2024 presidential campaign were fed a narrative that America can (and should) stand alone. Ultimately, if tariffs and deportations are the Trump administration’s default policy tools, not only will the US continue to decline on the mobility index on a comparative basis, but it will probably do so in absolute terms as well. This trend in tandem with China’s greater openness will likely give rise to Asia’s greater soft power dominance worldwide.”
The Least Powerful Passports of 2025
Afghanistan ranks last in the global list at 106th, able to visit just 26 destinations without a visa. By comparison, Singaporeans at the top of the list can visit 169 more destinations without a visa than Afghans.
Syria ranks 105th, with access to 27 destinations; Iraq is third-to-last, with 31 destinations; Yemen and Pakistan share 103rd place with access to 33 destinations without a visa; and in 102nd place is Somalia, with visa-free access to 35 destinations.
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