Which countries have the most powerful passports in 2025?

The most powerful passports for 2025 have been revealed in the latest ranking by the Henley Passport Index, which rates countries and their travel documents based on how many destinations holders can enter without needing to obtain a prior visa.

Asian nations come out on top again, with Singapore holding the number one spot, thanks to the 193 destinations worldwide its citizens can access visa-free, while Japan and South Korea tie in second place with 190 visa-free destinations.

Europe also puts in a strong top five performance, with the passports of a whopping seven nations (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain) allowing access to 189 destinations and so sharing third place, while a further seven (namely Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden) provide visa-free travel to 188 destinations. Greece and Switzerland share the fifth spot with a nation from the other side of the world: New Zealand.

1. Singapore 🇸🇬 (access to 193 destinations)
2. Japan 🇯🇵 and South Korea 🇰🇷 (190)
3. Denmark 🇩🇰, Finland 🇫🇮, France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Ireland 🇮🇪, Italy 🇮🇹, Spain 🇪🇸 (189)
4. Austria 🇦🇹, Belgium 🇧🇪, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Netherlands 🇳🇱, Norway 🇳🇴, Portugal 🇵🇹, Sweden 🇸🇪 (188)
5. Greece 🇬🇷,New Zealand 🇳🇿, Switzerland 🇨🇭, UK 🇬🇧 (187)
6. United Kingdom 🇬🇧 (186)
7. Australia 🇦🇺, Czechia 🇨🇿, Hungary 🇭🇺, Malta 🇲🇹, Poland 🇵🇱 (185)
8. Canada 🇨🇦, Estonia 🇪🇪, UAE 🇦🇪 (184)
9. Croatia 🇭🇷, Latvia 🇱🇻, Slovakia 🇸🇰, Slovenia 🇸🇮 (183)
10. Iceland 🇭🇮🇸, Lithuania 🇱🇹, USA 🇺🇸 (182)

Explore the latest Henley Passport Index, the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.https://t.co/TAXk5eXOrx pic.twitter.com/i3xWCasuUp

— Henley & Partners (@HenleyPartners) July 22, 2025

United States’ soft power plummets

The top ten has seen some change, and not all of it positive. The United Kingdom (now sixth) and United States (now 10th) have both dropped down one place in the ranking, putting the US at risk of falling out of the top 10 for the first time ever. In fact, viewed over the last ten years, the US is one of the biggest losers in terms of passport power, down eight places, putting it just one place behind troubled Venezuela, which is down 15.

That jeopardy for the US is perhaps an unsurprising development given President Donald Trump’s mercurial attitude to international relations, something underlined in comments by the rankings founder Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, who said “access is earned — and must be maintained — through active and strategic diplomacy. Nations that proactively negotiate visa waivers and nurture reciprocal agreements continue to rise, while the opposite applies to those that are less engaged in such efforts.”

Henley’s press release also points out that the more regressive and closed a nation becomes in terms of its international relations, the more its citizens are likely to seek alternative residence, citizenship, and investment options. US citizens are now the world leaders in demanding global access and security, while, nearly ten years on from retreating from Europe with Brexit, UK citizens are fifth in that list.

Winners in Asia and Middle East

India, on the other hand, has leapt eight places in just six months, rising from 85^th to 77^th despite only adding two destinations to its visa-free access list which now stands at 59. Saudi Arabia has added twice as many destinations since January and its total now stands at 91, lifting the kingdom four places to 54^th.

But the biggest success in the updated ranking is the UAE, which has rocketed 34 places in the last decade to now sit in eighth place. China is described as “another notable winner” having soared 34 places from 94^th to 60^th in the same timeframe – a performance Henley notes is “particularly impressive considering that, unlike other top risers, China has not yet gained visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen Area.”

And in terms of openness rather than access, China’s decision to throw its doors wide for to 75 nations, over a dozen of which were added in the last six months alone, is dubbed a “remarkable shift considering it allowed visa-free entry to fewer than 20 countries just five years ago.”