Who’s the itty-bitty city-state with the global passport the world thinks is great?

There’s new year cheer for Singapore as it reclaims its place at the top of a quarterly ranking of the world’s most powerful passports.

Holders of this desirable red travel document enjoy visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations worldwide, according to the Henley Passport Index, more than citizens of any other place on the planet.

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Japan is second in the ranking, with an open door to 193 destinations, having secured the silver medal by regaining visa-free access to neighbouring China for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdowns.

The EU member states of France, Germany, Italy and Spain are at No. 3, along with Finland and South Korea, with access to 192 destinations with no prior visa needed.

The fourth position in the rankings is a testament to the power of the European Union’s border-free Schengen area, which guarantees free movement to more than 425 million EU citizens. It’s held by seven EU countries, each with visa-free access to 191 destinations: Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Squeaking into fifth place are five countries — Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom — all of which have visa-free access to 190 destinations.

The mobility gap

Now in its 20th year, the index, created by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, tracks global freedoms in 227 countries and territories around the world, using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

At the opposite end of the ranking, at No. 106, Afghanistan remains locked in bottom place, with visa-free access to just 26 destinations, two fewer than a year ago. Syria is at No. 105 (with 27 destinations) and Iraq is at No. 104 (with 31 destinations).

This means that the gap between the travel freedoms enjoyed by the citizens at the top and bottom of the ranking has never been wider.

“The very notion of citizenship and its birthright lottery needs a fundamental rethink as temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and severe, displacing communities and rendering their environments uninhabitable,” said Christian H. Kaelin, chair of Henley and Partners, in a press release.

“Simultaneously, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions force countless people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge.”

Climbers and fallers

The rest of the top 10 is dominated by European countries, with a few exceptions. Australia and Greece are tied at No. 6, while Malta, Poland and Canada are at No. 7.

Eighth place is shared by Czechia and Hungary, the United States and Estonia are at No. 9, and No. 10 is held by Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE is one of the index’s biggest success stories in global mobility, having secured access to an additional 72 destinations since 2015, allowing it to climb 32 places to 10th spot with visa-free access to 185 destinations.

China is also a big climber, having jumped up the list from 94th place in 2015 to No. 60 in 2025.

Only 22 of the world’s 199 passports have fallen down the ranking in the past decade and some surprising names are at the top of the list.

Venezuela is at No. 1, followed by the United States as the second-highest faller. It’s dropped seven places from No. 2 to No. 9.

The South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu is at No. 4, followed by the British passport at No. 5 — a former No. 1. Canada is No. 5 on the losers list, having dropped three places in the ranking in the last decade.

Henley & Partners’ list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.

Arton Capital’s Passport Index takes into consideration the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories — Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Kosovo, the Palestinian territories and the Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.

It’s also updated in real-time throughout the year, but its data is gathered by close monitoring of individual governments’ portals.

Arton’s Global Passport Power Rank 2025 puts the United Arab Emirates in the top spot, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 180. Second place is held by Spain, with a score of 179.

The most powerful passports for 2025

1. Singapore (195 destinations)

2. Japan (193)

3. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, South Korea (192)

4. Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway (191)

5. Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom (190)

6. Greece, Australia (189)

7. Canada, Poland, Malta (188)

8. Hungary, Czechia (187)

9. Estonia, United States (186)

10. Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (185)