Singapore has taken back the title of the world’s most powerful passport in 2024, according to the Henley Passport Index, in a year when new records were set at both the top and the bottom of the ranking.
The top
Giving visa-free access to a record-breaking 195 destinations around the world, Singapore has now elbowed its way past the five joint title holders it shared the spot with in the January edition of the measure, shoving France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain into second place, to take the title for itself as it did in summer 2023.
Citizens of the big European four and former five-time winner, Japan, are able to visit 192 global destinations, while seven countries now share the third place podium: 191 nations now give visa-free access to holders of passports from Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden.
The UK, a proud occupier of the number one slot alongside the US a decade ago, now clings to fourth place after sliding to just 190 visa-free destinations, alongside Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland. Australia and Portugal round out the top five with 189 destinations each. The US meanwhile has slithered even further since its heyday, to eighth place in the list with just 186 countries granting visa-free access to US citizens.
A powerful economic tool
The London-based immigration consultancy, Henley and Partners, uses exclusive International Air Transport Association (IATA) figures to compile its regular list of heavyweight passport nations. Commenting on the July 2024 ranking, Chief Executive Officer, Juerg Steffen, noted the impact that friendly visa relationships can have on a country’s prosperity and stability. “The ability to travel visa-free to a wide array of destinations is no longer merely a convenience,” he said. “It’s a powerful economic tool that can drive growth, foster international cooperation, and attract foreign investment.”
Among the countries doing just that are China, which has been negotiating a suite of visa-free arrangements with a host of international partners as part of its global outreach and infrastructure strategy, and UAE and its Arabian Peninsula partners, who are pivoting away from fossil fuel economies towards tourism.
Global mobility gap
At the bottom of the heap yet again for passport power, Afghanistan, whose measly 26 visa-free destinations represent another record, this time a record low, with the worst score in the Index’s 19-year archive.
Due to that lengthening out at the top and bottom of the list, another point emerging from the data is what Christian Kaelin, chair of Henley & Partners, calls “the global mobility gap”, or the chasm between the ability of those in developed countries to travel versus those at the bottom of the index, which “is now wider than it has ever been.”
The most powerful passports for July 2024
1. Singapore 🇸🇬 (195 destinations)
2. France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Italy 🇮🇹, Japan 🇯🇵, Spain 🇪🇸 (192)
3. Austria 🇦🇹, Finland 🇫🇮, Ireland 🇮🇪, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Netherlands 🇳🇱, South Korea 🇰🇷, Sweden 🇸🇪 (191)
4. Belgium 🇧🇪, Denmark 🇩🇰, New Zealand 🇳🇿, Norway 🇳🇴, Switzerland 🇨🇭, United Kingdom 🇬🇧 (190)
5. Australia 🇦🇺, Portugal 🇵🇹 (189)
6. Greece 🇬🇷, Poland 🇵🇱 (188)
7. Canada 🇨🇦, Czechia 🇨🇿, Hungary 🇭🇺, Malta 🇲🇹 (187)
8. United States 🇺🇸 (186)
9. Estonia 🇪🇪, Lithuania 🇱🇹, United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪 (185)
10. Iceland 🇮🇸, Latvia 🇱🇻, Slovakia 🇸🇰, Slovenia 🇸🇮 (184)
