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, more than citizens of any other place on the planet, according to the Henley Passport Index.
Japan is second in the ranking, with an open door to 193 destinations, having secured the silver medal by regaining visa-free access to neighboring 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 Henley Passport Index, now in its 20th year, 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).
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. “Simultaneously, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions force countless people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge.”