Singapore has the strongest passport in the world — again, according to the latest Henley Passport Index.
The ranking, published on Tuesday, shows that the small nation-state maintains its top spot in the index after breaking a tie between six countries for the top spot earlier this year.
In 2024, Singapore shared the top spot with Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France.
The latest ranking shows Japan and South Korea tied for second place, with the other former contenders for first place tied for third with Denmark, Finland, and Ireland.
The Henley Passport Index is a widely known ranking of global passports, which evaluates the power of passports based on one measure — the number of destinations that their holders can visit without needing to obtain a prior visa. The index ranks countries according to data provided by the International Air Transport Association, as stated.
The ranking focuses mainly on ease of travel, while another ranking closely followed by CNBC Travel, the Nomad Passport Index, ranks passports based on five criteria, including taxation, and focuses more on global citizenship.
The latest Henley ranking shows that the US passport has dropped from 9th to 10th place. The UK passport also fell in the ranking, moving from 5th to 6th place, according to the ranking.
This follows a “long-term downward trend” for the two countries, which were once considered the strongest passports in the world, according to Henley & Partners.
“It is worth noting that the US is now on the verge of exiting the top 10 for the first time in the 20-year history of the index,” the company said in a statement.
The top 10 list is dominated by European countries, but with three major Asian economies holding the top spots:
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 enter 193 countries without a visa, while the countries tied for 10th place can enter 182, according to the ranking.
India’s passport has seen the largest increase of any country over the past six months, rising from 85th to 77th place, according to Henley & Partners.
An analysis of the rankings over the past decade showed that the UAE rose 34 places in the rankings, according to the company. It is the only country that showed a “large increase” and entered the top ten during this period, he said.
China has also risen 34 places over the past 10 years, according to the company, a move it called “particularly impressive,” considering that China does not have visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen area.
Afghanistan’s passport remained at the bottom of the list, providing visa-free access to just 25 countries worldwide, according to the company.
