Singapore held onto its top spot as the world’s most powerful passport for 2025. But what does that really mean – and how does yours stack up?
On Tuesday 22 July 2025, the 2025 Henley Passport Q2 Index was released, ranking the world’s 199 passports. The Henley Passport Index, compiled by consultancy firm Henley & Partners, is the most frequently cited passport ranking and is based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). For this list, the primary deciding factor in determining how “powerful” a passport is is how many countries are accessible and visa-free for a nation’s citizens.
Singapore passport holders can currently travel visa-free to a total of 193 out of 227 destinations around the globe, giving its citizens more unrestricted travel access than anywhere else in the world. Close behind, runner-up Japan climbed from third to second place in the 2025 ranking. The Japanese passport unlocks visa-free access to 190 nations, a total that now includes China for the first time since the covid pandemic. Japan ties with South Korea in second place, having tied in third place with multiple European destinations in the Q1 2025 ranking.
Seven countries – Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain – are tied for third place with visa-free access to 192 destinations globally. In fourth place, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden are also tied, with their citizens enjoying travel to 188 destinations without needing a visa.
The United Arab Emirates has risen from 10th place to joint eighth place alongside Canada and Estonia, where it remains the only Arab nation to have secured a spot in the top 10 ranking. Its passport holders can travel visa-free to 184 destinations worldwide. UAE passport holders have experienced a significant improvement in global mobility over the past decade, gaining access to dozens of additional destinations since 2015.
Meanwhile, the US passport, which dropped from second place in 2015 to its current ranking of tenth place (it ranked ninth in the Q1 2025 rankings), has become less powerful over the past decade. The British passport has also diminished in power in recent years, and is now ranked in sixth place. It has been over a decade since the UK and the US jointly held the top spot on the index in 2014.
Global mobility trends for 2025
While many countries have seen improved travel access in recent years, others have dropped in the ranking. In last place on the list, Afghanistan has lost visa-free access to another country in the past six months, bringing its total to a mere 25 destinations. This has created the largest mobility gap in the 19 years since the index has existed, with Singapore citizens permitted visa-free travel to a whopping 168 more destinations than Afghan passport holders. Simply put, the concept of “passport privilege” has never been more significant in terms of the freedom to travel.
Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, said in a news release, “The consolidation we’re seeing at the top underscores that 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.”
As remote work, the cost of living, and lifestyle preferences continue to shift how and where we work, live, and travel, more Americans are considering digital nomad visas or pursuing second passports through ancestry and investment. To find out where your passport landed in this year’s ranking, see below for the top 20 list.
The world’s most powerful passports for 2025:
- Singapore (193 destinations)
- Japan, South Korea (190 destinations)
- Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain (189 destinations)
- Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden (188 destinations)
- Greece, New Zealand, Switzerland (187 destinations)
- United Kingdom (186 destinations)
- Australia, Czechia, Hungary, Malta, Poland (185 destinations)
- Canada, Estonia, United Arab Emirates (184 destinations)
- Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia (183 destinations)
- Iceland, Lithuania, United States (182 destinations)
- Liechtenstein, Malaysia (181 destinations)
- Cyprus (178 destinations)
- Bulgaria, Monaco, Romania (177 destinations)
- Chile (176 destinations)
- Andorra (171 destinations)
- Argentina, Brazil, San Marino (170 destinations)
- Hong Kong (169 destinations)
- Isreal (168 destinations)
- Brunei (164 destinations)
- Barbados (163 destinations)This article has been updated with new information since its original publication date.
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