Singapore has the most powerful passport in the world, according to Henley's 2025 Passport Index.
The nation-state was one of six countries that tied for the top spot in 2024 on the list produced by migration consultancy Henley & Partners, which ranks passports according to the number of destinations that holders can access without needing a visa.
Singapore broke ahead of the other five countries – Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and France – with citizens gaining visa-free access to 195 out of 227 global destinations, according to the ranking a was released on Wednesday.
Japan is ranked 2, with visa-free access to 193 spots, while the four European countries that tied for the top spot last year, as well as Finland and South Korea, share third place, with each passport gives the ability to visit 192 destinations without the need for a visa.
Countries in Europe, as well as New Zealand, dominate the rest of the top 20 list.
The Henley Passport Index using data from the International Air Transport Association to rank 199 passports in the world.
“Visa-free”, according to the index, includes situations where a visa is not required, or where entry documents are required that are easier to obtain, such as visas on arrival, permits visitors and electronic travel authorities.
Climbers and fallers
The United Arab Emirates is one of the “biggest climbers” on the list, according to a press release, having gained visa-free access to 72 destinations in the past decade, for 185 destinations to all over the world.
It is just behind the United States, whose citizens can visit 186 places without needing a visa, according to the ranking.
The US is one of 22 places where passports have fallen in the index in the past 10 years, he said.
“Surprisingly, the US is the the second largest between 2015 and 2025 after Venezuela, falling seven places from 2nd to 9th position,” the release said.
Passports from the United Kingdom – which topped the list in 2015 – and Canada also fell, he said.
China rose in the ranking to 60th place in 2025. Its openness to other countries also increased significantly, with China now allowing citizens from 58 destinations to visit visa-free – half of which were added in the past year – according to the The Henley Openness Index.
At the bottom of the list
Afghanistan is again considered the weakest passport on the list. It was finally ranked for access to just 26 out of 227 destinations. Its citizens can visit places like Cambodia, Maldives, Djibouti, Sri Lanka and Haiti without needing to get a visa.
The gap between the strongest and weakest passports on the list is the largest in the index's 19-year history, according to Henley & Partners. Singaporeans can visit 169 more places than Afghans without needing a visa, he says.
After Afghanistan, the weakest passports on the list are those from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Nepal, the Palestinian territories, Libya and Bangladesh, each of which is below the level of North Korea, whose citizens can visit on 41 destinations around the world, according to the ranking.
