For another year, Singapore is the strongest in the world, according to the latest Henley Passport Index.
The ranking, published on Tuesday, shows the small nation-state retains the top spot in the index after breaking a six-place tie for the award earlier this year.
In 2024, Singapore shared the top ranking with Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.
The latest ranking shows Japan and South Korea tied for second, with the other former candidate countries tied for third with Denmark, Finland and Ireland.
For the second year in a row, Greece is in the golden 5, tied with New Zealand and Switzerland.
The Henley Passport Index is a widely used global passport ranking, which assesses the strength of a passport based on one measure – the number of destinations holders can visit without needing to obtain a visa. The index ranks countries according to data provided by the International Air Transport Association.
For example, in the case of Greece, residents of 187 destinations can visit it without a visa, while in the case of Singapore it is 193.
The ranking focuses primarily on ease of travel, while another ranking closely monitored by CNBC Travel, the Nomad Passport Index, ranks passports based on five criteria, including taxation, and focuses more on global citizenship.
In this index, published in April, Greece is in second place together with Switzerland.
Henley’s latest rankings show the US passport slipped to 10th place from 9th. The UK passport also moved down the list, taking sixth place from fifth, according to Henley & Partners. This represents the continuation of a “long-term downward trend” for the two countries — which were once considered the most powerful passports in the world, according to Henley & Partners.
“Notably, the US is now on the verge of dropping out of the top ten entirely for the first time in the index’s 20-year history,” the company said in a statement.
The ranking
The list of the top 10 countries shows a ranking dominated mainly by European countries, but at the top are three key Asian economies:
1 Singapore
2. Japan
2. South Korea
3. Denmark
3. Finland
3. France
3. Germany
3. Ireland
3. Italy
3. Spain
4. Austria
4. Belgium
4. Luxembourg
4. Netherlands
4. Norway
4. Portugal
4. Sweden
5. Greece
5. New Zealand
5. Switzerland
6. United Kingdom
7. Australia
7. Czech Republic
7. Hungary
7. Malta
7. Poland
8. Canada
8. Estonia
8. United Arab Emirates
9. Croatia
9. Latvia
9. Slovakia
9. Slovenia
10. Iceland
10. Lithuania
10. United States
Singaporeans can access 193 countries visa-free, while countries tied for 10th place have access to 182, according to the rankings.
The biggest moves on the list
India’s passport has seen the biggest rise of any country in the past six months, rising to 77th from 85th, according to Henley & Partners.
An analysis of the rankings over the past decade showed the UAE climbed 34 places in the rankings, the firm said. It is the only “big riser” to make the top ten during that period, it said.
China has also climbed 34 places over the past 10 years, the firm said, a move it called “particularly impressive” given that China does not have visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen zone.
The Afghan passport remained at the bottom of the list, providing visa-free access to just 25 countries worldwide, the company said.
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