Singapore overtakes, outranks Japan as most powerful passport in the world

Singapore has emerged as the country with the world’s most powerful passport, surpassing Japan for the top spot.

According to the latest Henley Passport Index, Singaporean passport holders enjoy visa-free entry to 192 destinations, the highest number among all countries.

This marks a return to the top position for Singapore, which previously held the title in 2021 before being overtaken by Japan in the subsequent year.

Germany, Italy, and Spain are tied in second place, with their passport holders having access to 190 destinations.

Japan, which held the top rank for four out of the last five years, now takes the third spot alongside France, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg, and South Korea, with access to 189 destinations.

In contrast, the United States has dropped to eighth place, its lowest position to date. The country, which topped the ranking in 2014, now allows its passport holders visa-free access to fewer destinations.

On the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan has the least powerful passport, granting visa-free access to only 27 destinations. Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, and Iraq also rank among the countries with the least powerful passports.

The Henley Passport Index, compiled by London-based immigration consultancy Henley & Partners, uses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to assess the number of destinations citizens of each country can visit without a visa.

Greg Lindsay, an executive at Cornell Tech, suggests that the continual decline of the United States in the ranking over the past decade may be attributed to the country’s lack of visa reciprocity.

“The reason for the US’s slump is both easy to explain and confounding: it isn’t trying,” Lindsay said in an analysis.

“Of the 34 countries ranked between 1 and 10, the US boasts the smallest increase in the Henley Passport Index scores between 2013 and 2023, with additional access to only 12 countries. Singapore, by contrast, has seen an increase of 25 additional countries during the same period, propelling it upward by five places to the number 1 rank.”