SINGAPORE, 24 July 2025: Singapore retains its position as the world’s most powerful passport, with visa-free access to 193 destinations out of 227 globally, according to the latest Henley Passport Index.
The index is powered by exclusive Timatic data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It ranks all the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a prior visa. Asian nations continue to lead the global mobility race, with Japan and South Korea sharing second place, each granting their citizens visa-free access to 190 destinations.
A strong European contingent occupies the remaining spots in the top five rankings. Seven EU passports share 3rd place — Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, all with access to 189 destinations.
Another seven-nation European cohort, with visa-free entry to 188 destinations, is joint 4th — Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden — while New Zealand, the only nation to challenge the regional dominance, ties in 5th place with Greece and Switzerland.
At the other end of the global mobility spectrum, Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the ranking, with its citizens able to access just 25 destinations without a prior visa — a staggering 168 destination gap between the top and bottom-ranked passports.
Biggest risers and fallers
The UK and US have each dropped a place in the global passport rankings since January, continuing a long-term downward trend. Once the most powerful passports in the world — the UK in 2015 and the US in 2014 — they now rank 6th and 10th, respectively. The UK currently has visa-free access to 186 destinations, while the US trails with 182. Notably, the US is now on the brink of exiting the Top 10 altogether for the first time in the index’s 20-year history.
The UAE continues to be a standout among the top risers, shooting up 34 places over the last 10 years from 42nd to 8th place. Another notable winner is China, which has also risen 34 places from 94th to 60th since 2015 — an awe-inspiring achievement, considering that, unlike other top risers, China has not yet gained visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen Area.
The Asia-Pacific region is also a leading driver of global travel. IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh, says overall demand for air travel showed strong 5.8% growth over the first five months of 2025, with some regional variations. “Asia-Pacific airlines led the way with 9.5% growth. In North America, international traffic grew by 1.8%, but this was offset by a 1% contraction in the domestic market, leaving demand effectively flat over the period.”
