World’s most powerful passports for 2025 revealed

Henley & Partners has revealed its ranking for the most (and least) powerful passports in 2024. It is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa, based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

1. Singapore takes back sole first spot

Singapore and Japan broke away from the group of six countries that shared top spot last year to secure gold and silver, respectively. Singapore reclaimed its crown as the most powerful passport in the world with visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations worldwide, leaving Japan in the runner-up spot with a score of 193 but still ahead of the rest after it regained visa-free access to neighbouring China for the first time since the Covid lockdowns.

Several EU member states — France, Germany, Italy and Spain — dropped two places in the ranking to 3^rd position, and are joined by Finland and South Korea, which each lost a place over the past 12 months and now have access to 192 destinations with no prior visa required. A seven-nation EU cohort, all with visa-free access to 191 destinations — Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden — share 4^th place, while five countries — Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the UK — came in 5^th with 190 visa-free destinations.

The rest of the index’s Top 10 is largely dominated by European countries, except for Australia (6^th place with 189 destinations), Canada (7^th place with 188 destinations), the US (9^th place with 186 destinations) and the UAE, the first and only Arab state to ever make it into the upper echelons of the rankings. The UAE is one of the biggest climbers on the index over the past decade, having secured access to an additional 72 destinations since 2015, enabling it to climb 32 places to 10^th spot with visa-free access to 185 destinations worldwide.

On the other end of the mobility spectrum, Afghanistan remains firmly entrenched at the bottom of the ranking, having lost visa-free access to a further two destinations over the past year, creating the largest mobility gap in the index’s 19-year history, with Singaporeans able to travel to 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghan passport holders.

“The very notion of citizenship and its birthright lottery needs a fundamental rethink as temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and severe, displacing communities and rendering their environments uninhabitable,” said Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Henley & Partners Chairman and inventor of the passport index concept. “Simultaneously, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions force countless people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge. The need to introduce Free Global Cities to harness the untapped potential of displaced people and other migrants, transforming them from victims of circumstance into architects of their own futures has never been more pressing or apparent.”

In our Henley Global Mobility Report 2025 Q1, Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, discusses free global cities, unpacking the search for sustainable and humane solutions, and creating a place of safety, productivity, and independence.https://t.co/q61tm6pc7A

— Henley & Partners (@HenleyPartners) January 9, 2025

2. Biggest climbers and droppers

Only 22 of the world’s 199 passports have fallen down the Henley Passport Index ranking over the past decade. The US is the second-biggest faller between 2015 and 2025, after Venezuela, plummeting seven places from 2^nd to its current 9^th position. Vanuatu is the third-biggest faller, losing six places from 48^th to 54^th position, followed by the British passport, which was top of the index in 2015 but now sits in 5^th place. Completing the “Top 5 losers” list is Canada, which has dropped three ranks over the past decade from 4^th to its current 7^th place.

In contrast, China is among the biggest climbers over the past decade, ascending from 94^th place in 2015 to 60^th in 2025, with its visa-free score increasing by 40 destinations in that time. And in terms of its openness to other nations, China has also risen on the Henley Openness Index, which ranks all 199 countries and territories worldwide according to the number of nationalities they permit entry to without a prior visa. China granted visa-free access to a further 29 countries over the past year alone and now sits in 80^th position, granting visa-free entry to a total of 58 nations as the new year commences, compared to the USA, which ranks 84^th and allows just 46 other countries access without a prior visa.

How do China’s visa-free entry schemes work for tourists?

3. Most powerful passports in 2025

1. Singapore 🇸🇬 (access to 195 destinations)
2. Japan 🇯🇵 (193)
3. Finland 🇫🇮, France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Italy 🇮🇹, South Korea 🇰🇷, Spain 🇪🇸 (192)
4. Austria 🇦🇹, Denmark 🇩🇰, Ireland 🇮🇪, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Netherlands 🇳🇱, Norway 🇳🇴, Sweden 🇸🇪 (191)
5. Belgium 🇧🇪, New Zealand 🇳🇿, Portugal 🇵🇹, Switzerland 🇨🇭, UK 🇬🇧 (190)
6. Australia 🇦🇺, Greece 🇬🇷 (189)
7. Canada 🇨🇦, Malta 🇲🇹, Poland 🇵🇱 (188)
8. Czechia 🇨🇿, Hungary 🇭🇺 (187)
9. Estonia 🇪🇪, USA 🇺🇸 (186)
10. Latvia 🇱🇻, Lithuania 🇱🇹, Slovenia 🇸🇮, UAE 🇦🇪 (185)

4. Least powerful passports in 2025

1. Afghanistan 🇦🇫 (26)
2. Syria 🇸🇾 (27)
3. Iraq 🇮🇶 (31)
4. Yemen 🇾🇪, Pakistan 🇵🇰 (33)
5. Somalia 🇸🇴 (35)
6. Nepal 🇳🇵 (39)
7. Bangladesh 🇧🇩, Libya 🇱🇾, Palestinian Territory 🇵🇸 (40)
8. North Korea 🇰🇵 (41)
9. Eritrea 🇪🇷 (42)
10. Sudan 🇸🇩 (43)