The world’s most powerful passports for 2025 have been revealed – but the US and UK have slipped down the list compared to last year.
The world ranking indicates the number of countries that citizens around the world can enter visa-free.
this year, Singapore boast the most powerful passport in the world, with their citizens able to visit an astonishing 195 destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free.
The British passport has fallen from fourth to fifth place over the past year after topping the index in 2015.
Its citizens – along with those of Belgium, New ZealandSwitzerland and Portugal – can visit 190 countries visa-free.
The US also fell in the rankings, from seventh to ninth place, with visa-free access to 186 countries. But it is still some way off its 2014 ranking, when it came joint first with the UK.
Also on the index’s losers list Canadawhich has dropped three ranks from fourth to its current seventh place in the past decade. Australia maintained its position, in sixth place, with visa-free access to 189 countries.
The list was produced by the Henley Passport Indexwhich is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It analyzes how many countries a passport holder can enter without a prior visa.
The British passport dropped from fourth to fifth place in the past year after topping the index in 2015.
This year, Singapore (pictured) boasts the most powerful passport in the world, with its citizens able to visit an astonishing 195 destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free
The most recent study reveals that Japan (pictured) has the world’s second most powerful passport with visa-free access to 193 countries
The most recent study reveals that Japan has the world’s second most powerful passport with visa-free access to 193 countries.
The populations of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and South Korea (joint third) all have visa-free access to 192 countries. Four of these countries – France, Germany, Italy and Spain – fell two places compared to last year’s index.
An EU cohort of seven nations, all with visa-free access to 191 destinations – Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, The NetherlandsNorway and Sweden – share fourth place.
The rest of the index’s Top 10 is largely dominated by EU countries, except for Australia, Canada, the US and the UAE, one of the biggest climbers over the past decade, securing an additional 72 destinations since 2015 to make it to place in 10th place. place with visa-free access to 185 destinations worldwide.
Afghanistan remains entrenched at the bottom of the index, with a visa-free access score of just 26 (down from 28 last year), creating the largest mobility gap in the index’s 19-year history, with Singapore able to travel to 169 more destinations . visa free as Afghan passport holders.
Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners, said: ‘The idea of citizenship and its birthright lottery needs to be fundamentally rethought as temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and severe, displacing communities and making their environments uninhabitable.
‘At the same time, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions are forcing many people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge.’
Afghanistan is followed by Syria (27), Iraq (31), Yemen (33), Pakistan (33) and Somalia (35), which together make up the six worst passports in the world.
The populations of Finland (pictured), France, Germany, Italy, Spain and South Korea (joint third) all have visa-free access to 192 countries
The US also fell in the rankings, from seventh to ninth place, with visa-free access to 186 countries. But it’s still a long way from its 2014 ranking, when it came joint first with the UK
Palestinian Territory is slightly ahead with a visa-free entry score of 40, placing it joint 100th with Libya and Bangladesh.
In contrast, China is one of the biggest climbers, rising from 94th place in 2015 to 60th in 2025, with its visa-free count increasing by 40 destinations.
The Henley Passport Index contains 199 passports, giving users comprehensive and reliable information about their global access and mobility.
With historical data spanning 19 years and regularly updated expert analysis on the latest shifts in passport power, the index is an invaluable resource for global citizens and the standard reference tool for government policy in this area.
