The world's most powerful passports revealed, as US drops out of top 10 for the first time
Singapore has maintained its grip at the top of the latest rankings for the world's 'most powerful passport'.
Citizens of the city-state have visa-free access or visa on arrival at 193 of the 227 countries and territories measured by the Henley Passport Index.
In second, was South Korea with 190 and Japan was third with 189.
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The most powerful passports in the world have been revealed. Getty
Henley ranked multiple countries with the same score together as a single spot. In its standings, New Zealand was sixth, or joint 16th depending on how you read the ranking, with a score of 186, with Australia close behind in 7th.
But the main talking point this time was the downward trend of the US passport.
For the first time in the 20 years of the Henley rankings, it has dropped out of the top 10. Top in 2014, it was now in 12th place, tied with Malaysia, with access to 180 destinations.
It lost visa-free access to Brazil in April due to a lack of reciprocity, and China and Vietnam didn't add the US to its visa-free list.
Papua New Guinea and Myanmar have also tweaked their entry policies, which boosted other passports' rankings while further eroding that of the US.
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The US passport has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time. iStock
Dr Christian H Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and creator of the Henley Passport Index, said the decline of the US passport "signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics".
"Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging ahead, while those resting on past privilege are being left behind."
Annie Pforzheimer, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, blames the drop on politics.
"Even before a second Trump presidency, US policy had turned inward. That isolationist mindset is now being reflected in America's loss of passport power," she said.
The UK, another big power which previously topped the ranking in 2015, has slipped to its lowest-ever position of 8th.
The UK passport has also fallen in the rankings in 2025. iStock
Meanwhile, China has been steadily climbing in the rankings over the past decade, climbing from 94th place in 2015 to 64th in 2025, gaining visa-free access to 37 more destinations in that time.
Granting visa-free access to Russia and new agreements with the Gulf states, South America and several European countries are reasons for the climb, according to the Index.
The UAE is another one of the biggest success stories, having risen 34 places in the past decade, from No. 42 to 8th place.
At the other end of the ranking, Afghanistan remained at the bottom with a score of 24, just behind Syria (26) and Iraq (29).
The Singapore passport is the most powerful. Getty
The most powerful passports for 2025:
- Singapore (193 destinations)
- South Korea (190)
- Japan (189)
- Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland (188)
- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands (187)
- Greece, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden (186)
- Australia, Czech Republic, Malta, Poland (185)
- Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (184)
- Canada (183)
- Latvia, Liechtenstein (182)
- Iceland, Lithuania (181)
- USA, Malaysia (180)
- Additional reporting with Stuff.
