Singapore will reappear at the top of the newly released edition of the Henry Passport Index. This is a ranking of world passports in order of the number of destinations the owner can access without obtaining a visa before arrival. With the exception of the United Arab Emirates and Croatia, all other countries in the top 10 spots have fallen in the rankings since January 2025, including the US. Singapore remains the most powerful passport, but the number of visa-free countries that citizens can enter has now gone from 195 to 193.
Japan and South Korea came in second with 190 destinations (down from 193 and 192 respectively). The seven countries joined in third place in visa-free access to 189 destinations (below two or three points each): Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain.
The US came in 10th in access to 182 destinations (from 186 to below). The US was once number one in the index in 2014.
“The United States in particular is currently on the verge of leaving the Top 10 for the first time in the index’s 20-year history,” said a press release for the July 2025 edition of the Henry Global Mobility Report. Christian H. Kaelin, who invented the Passport Index concept in 2006, added: “The integration in which access must be acquired and strategic diplomacy must be acquired and maintained will actively negotiate visa exemptions and actively negotiate aggressive agreements, but such efforts will be repeated while actively negotiating aggressive agreements.
There is a wide gap between the access provided at the top and the bottom of the list. Afghanistan is currently ranked 99th, last in the ranking, as passport holders have access to 25 destinations. Syria and Iraq were ranked only slightly higher, allowing access to 27 and 30 destinations, respectively.
How is the list determined?
This list is prepared by Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residential advisory company. Using data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the list ranks passports from 199 countries and their ability to travel to 227 possible destinations, including territories annexed by other countries such as the French Polynesia and the British Virgin Islands.
According to the Henry Passport Index, the world’s most powerful passports for 2025 are:
- Singapore (Destinations in 193)
- Japan, Korea (190 destinations)
- Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain (189 destinations)
- Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden (188 destinations)
- Greece, New Zealand, Switzerland (187 destinations)
- UK (186 destinations)
- Australia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland (185 destinations)
- Canada, Estonia, United Arab Emirates (184 destinations)
- Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia (183 destinations)
- Iceland, Lithuania, USA (182 destinations)
Different passport ranking list
Henley & Partners is not the only company that indexes the strength of your global passport. The Passport Index by Arton considers the same 199 passports as the Henry index in the rankings, but excludes territories annexed by other countries. The list also updates the rankings in real time and takes into account factors such as Visa requirements and the country’s standard of living as determined by the UN Development Program Human Development Index. Therefore, Arton’s rankings are slightly different.
Here’s how the world’s most powerful passports ranked in 2025, according to Arton Capital.
- United Arab Emirates (179 destinations)
- Spain (176 destinations)
- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland (175 destinations)
- Hungary, Poland, Korea, Sweden (174 destinations)
- Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Japan, Liechtenstein, Slovakia (173rd destination)
- Latvia, New Zealand, Slovenia (172 destinations)
- Bulgaria, Iceland, Lithuania, Malta, Romania (171 destinations)
- Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Malaysia, United Kingdom (170 destinations)
- USA (169 destinations)
- Monaco (168 destinations)
To see the full rankings, visit henleypassportindex.com and passportindex.com.
This article was recently published on July 25th, 2024 and updated on July 29th, 2025 with new information.
