Singapore’s passport is now the most powerful in the world, according to Henley and Partners

Singapore has become the world’s most powerful passport, as announced by the Henley Passport Index. The Singapore passport allows holders visa-free entry to 192 destinations out of 227 in the world. Japan was knocked off the top spot for the first time in five years and bumped into 3^rd place. The index is based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Germany, Italy, and Spain all moved up into 2^nd place with visa-free access to 190 destinations, and Japanese passport holders join those of six other nations — Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden — in 3^rd place with access to189 destinations without a prior visa.

Global connectivity and access have become indispensable features of wealth creation and preservation.

Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners

The UK appears to have finally turned the corner after a six-year decline, jumping up two places on the latest ranking to 4^th place — a position it last held in 2017. The US, on the other hand, continues its now decade-long slide down the index, plummeting a further two places to 8^th spot with access to just 184 destinations visa-free. Both the UK and the US jointly held 1^st place on the index nearly 10 years ago, in 2014, but have been on a downward trajectory ever since.

Of the countries sitting in the top 10, the US has seen the smallest increase in its score on the Henley Passport Index over the past decade, securing visa-free access to just 12 additional destinations between 2013 and 2023. Singapore, by comparison, has increased its score by 25, pushing it five places up the ranking over the past 10 years to number one spot.

“The story is a simple one — by more or less standing still, the US has fallen behind,” said Greg Lindsay, leading global strategist and urban tech fellow at Cornell Tech’s Jacobs Institute. “While its absolute score has in fact risen over the last decade, the US has been steadily overtaken by rivals such as South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. America’s relentless slide down the rankings — and unlikelihood of reclaiming the highest position any time soon — is a warning to its neighbor Canada and the rest of the Anglosphere as well.”

Afghanistan remains entrenched at the bottom of the Henley Passport Index, with a visa-free access score of just 27, followed by Iraq (score of 29), and Syria (score of 30) — the three weakest passports in the world.

The general trend over the history of the 18-year-old ranking has been towards greater travel freedom, with the average number of destinations travelers are able to access visa-free nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2023. However, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now wider than it has ever been, with top-ranked Singapore able to access 165 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan.

Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, said only eight countries worldwide have less visa-free access today than they did a decade ago while others have been more successful in securing greater travel freedom for their citizens.

“The UAE has added an impressive 107 destinations to its visa-free score since 2013, resulting in a massive leap of 44 places in the ranking over the past 10 years from 56^th to 12^th position,” Kaelin said. “This is almost double the next biggest climber, Colombia, which has enjoyed a jump of 28 places in the ranking to sit in 37^th spot. Ukraine and China are also among the top 10 countries with the most improved rankings over the past decade.”

Top 10 best passports to hold in 2023

1. Singapore 🇸🇬 (192 destinations)
2. Germany 🇩🇪, Italy 🇮🇹, Spain 🇪🇸 (190 destinations)
3. Austria 🇦🇹, Finland 🇫🇮, France 🇫🇷, Japan 🇯🇵, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, South Korea 🇰🇷, Sweden 🇸🇪 (189)
4. Denmark 🇩🇰, Ireland 🇮🇪, Netherlands 🇳🇱, UK 🇬🇧 (188 destinations)
5. Belgium 🇧🇪, Czech Republic 🇨🇿, Malta 🇲🇹, New Zealand 🇳🇿, Norway 🇳🇴, Portugal 🇵🇹, Switzerland 🇨🇭 (187 destinations)
6. Australia 🇦🇺, Hungary 🇭🇺, Poland 🇵🇱 (186 destinations)
7. Canada 🇨🇦, Greece 🇬🇷 (185 destinations)
8. Lithuania 🇱🇹, United States 🇺🇸 (184 destinations)
9. Latvia 🇱🇻, Slovakia 🇸🇰, Slovenia 🇸🇮 (183 destinations)
10. Estonia 🇪🇪, Iceland 🇮🇸 (182 destinations)