The World's Most Powerful Passports in 2025

Your passport is your key to exploring the world, but how easily you can travel internationally often depends on your country of origin. Some passports are considered to be more powerful than others, offering greater travel freedom through visa exemptions.

A passport’s strength is determined by the number of countries it allows you to enter with minimal entry requirements, like visa-free or visa-on-arrival access.

The Henley Passport Index (HPI), compiled by Henley & Partners, is regarded as the definitive authority on passport strength. It ranks every passport in the world by the travel freedom it allows.

In this post, we’ll explore which passports made 2025’s top 10. We’ll also provide insight into how the ranking system works, the most significant changes in passport strength, and how travel trends are being shaped by visa policies.

How Is Passport Strength Measured?

Your passport’s strength is based on how easily it allows you to travel internationally without making prior visa arrangements. In short, the more destinations a passport grants easy access to, the more powerful it’s considered.

Visas on arrival and electronic travel authorizations are also included in the metric, as they don’t follow the same, often lengthy, processes as traditional visas.

The HPI ranks passports based on these criteria, giving higher rankings to passports that provide the most visa-free access. Visa-free travel agreements between countries often influence these rankings, as they simplify entry requirements for travelers.

The Top 10 Most Powerful Passports in the World

The top 10 strongest passports in 2024 include those issued by Singapore, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Austria, Finland, Ireland, and Luxembourg. However, since most of these are tied for position, the top 10 positions have been listed in the table below.

They have been ranked in descending order according to the number of destinations passport holders can enter without applying for a visa before traveling.

The data presented below is based on the 2024 HPI ranking for each passport.

Significant Changes in the Top Passports for 2025

Though Singapore was in first position in the 2024 passport strength report, it shared the top spot with France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain. The city-state nation has now taken first place solo, making it officially the strongest passport in the world for 2025.

Here’s a look at some other key changes in the passport leaderboard.

The UAE rises into the top 10

For the first time, the United Arab Emirates has entered the top 10 of the Henley Passport Index, securing 10th place with visa-free access to 185 destinations.

The UAE's passport strength has increased remarkably over the past decade, gaining visa-free access to an additional 72 countries since 2015. This is the result of strategic diplomacy missions, which have improved international relations with other countries.

The United Arab Emirates is the 4th largest economy in the Middle East, with cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi now regarded as major hubs in international business and trade.

China expands visa-free access

Though the Chinese passport is still far from making the top 10 leaderboard—ranked 60th this year—an increased openness to foreign nations has allowed others to climb the rankings.

In a move to foster stronger economic and political ties worldwide, China further expanded its visa-free policy to include 9 additional countries in late 2024. This has enabled nations like Japan, Latvia, and Estonia to strengthen their position in the top passport table coming into 2025.

Following a gradual expansion of visa exemptions since reopening its borders in 2023, Chinese authorities have reported a surge in tourism, with more than 20 million visa-free entries recorded in 2024. This marks a year-on-year increase of 112%, boosting the tourism sector after a slow return following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Declines in U.S. and UK passport rankings

The United States and the United Kingdom have both experienced notable declines in their passport rankings—a trend that’s particularly evident when examining HPI data from the past decade.

Both nations shared the top spot in 2015, granting access to 147 countries without an advanced visa. The UK and U.S. have managed to remain in the top 10 year on year, but are no longer front-runners in passport strength.

Brexit casts a long shadow for UK travelers

The UK now stands in 5th place, having fallen as far as 7th in the table in 2020. Analysts attribute the UK’s decline in passport rankings to geopolitical shifts following Brexit and uncertainty around what the departure from the EU meant for Brits' travel power.

Though Brexit hasn’t removed visa-free access to EU countries for short-term visits, the UK’s exit from the EU is perceived to have affected the country’s global influence, power, and relationships.

The upcoming launch of the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), in May 2025, will add to the requirements for UK visitors to the EU. Despite having no direct impact on passport rankings, it’s an additional administrative step that will likely alter perceptions of ease of travel.

U.S. border policies are thought to have reduced its global mobility

The U.S. has suffered an even more drastic decline in rankings, having dropped to 9th place since holding the top spot in 2015. Only the Venezuelan passport has lost more power than the American passport in the last 10 years.

Isolationist policies and stricter border controls are among the many factors thought to be behind this drop in U.S. passport strength. The Henley Openness Index ranks the United States in 84th place, far below its fellow passport leaderboard nations.

In response, American citizens are increasingly looking to strengthen their individual travel mobility. In 2024, Americans accounted for 21% of global applications for second passports through residence and citizenship-by-investment programs with Henley & Partners.

The firm, which is behind the HPI passport ranking index, reports more U.S. applicants than Turkish, British, Filipino, and Indian citizens—the next 4 biggest nationalities—combined.

The Top 10 Least Powerful Passports

Here’s a look at the lowest ranked-ranked passports for 2025, listed in ascending order. The data presented in the table below is based on the 2025 HPI ranking.

The widening mobility gap and passport strength

Different countries move up and down the passport leaderboard every year, but the disparity between the most and least mobile passports continues to grow.

This year, the front-runner Singapore has visa-free access to 195 destinations, creating a record 169-destination mobility gap between it and Afghanistan in last place.

Countries with the lowest passport rankings are often those grappling with the compounded effects of conflict, political instability, and economic hardship.

These challenging conditions not only disrupt daily life but also hinder international trust and diplomatic engagement, leaving their citizens with limited access to global travel and exacerbating inequalities.

Why Do Some Countries Have More Open Visa Policies Than Others?

Visa policies are typically based on mutual arrangements between countries, but a broad range of factors influence who can travel visa-free.

Economic strategy regularly plays a significant role, with nations like China and Kenya launching expansive visa exemptions with the explicit aim of boosting the tourism economy and improving financial ties. Easy border crossing helps trade and investment opportunities to flourish.

This is good news for international jet-setters, whether you’re traveling to secure a new business deal, or simply to take a vacation.

The most recent UN Tourism Visa Openness report reflects a general decline in traditional visa requirements—only 47% of people worldwide needed a paper visa to travel in 2023, down from 77% in 2008.

Rethinking visa policies in response to increasing global displacement

While access to travel for tourism and business is increasing, growing displacement as a result of geopolitical events is resulting in tighter visa policies for some.

From conflict and civil unrest to natural disasters, global events of all types drive displacement and large-scale population movement, creating a ripple effect that influences immigration policies around the world.

The European Commission reported that the number of forcibly displaced people reached 120 million in mid-2024, a historic high and twelfth annual consecutive rise in these figures.

As displacement becomes more widespread, discussions have shifted toward exploring sustainable migration practices. As Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, notes: “The very notion of citizenship and its birthright lottery needs a fundamental rethink…”

He explains that innovative concepts like Free Global Cities, which could replace traditional migration and visa rules, will help to “harness the untapped potential of displaced people and other migrants, transforming them from victims of circumstance into architects of their own futures.”

Economic status and travel inequality

Countries that are part of international trade bloc groups, such as the G20, or the Gulf Cooperation Council, tend to score more highly on the passport strength index. This is thanks to the shared visa-free travel benefits that all member nations receive.

Though all international groups benefit, there is a strong correlation between international travel power and economic status. Trade blocs that include countries with a large share of global GDP, such as the G7, European Union, and G20 nations, score very highly on the Henley Passport Index.

While citizens of these countries enjoy visa-free travel to many destinations, relaxed visa policies are not often reciprocated. Countries with a high share of international GDP offer relatively few travelers visa exemptions.

The African Union, which has around 50 member states including Kenya, South Africa, and Morocco, has a comparatively low share of global GDP. Group members have a relatively low passport strength, but conversely offer a high level of openness for foreign visitors.

This trend has been highlighted in all HPI studies in recent years, showing that economic strength continues to be directly linked to freedom of travel.