A US passport is no longer the golden ticket it once was
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- A US passport is not as powerful as it once was, according to the annual Henley & Partners Passport Index.
- The index ranks passports by visa-free access to 227 destinations, and the US is only ninth.
- Singapore holds the top spot, with access to 195 destinations visa-free.
A US passport is not as desirable as it used to be, according to the 2025 Henley Passport Index, which was first published 19 years ago.
The index, which ranks 199 passports based on how many out of 227 destinations they offer visa-free access to, has placed the US passport in ninth place, slipping from the top spot in 2014. This year, it allows American travelers to enter 186 countries and territories without a visa, not including Nigeria, India, and Russia.
Stemming from data provided by the International Air Transport Authority and updated using internal research and open-source online data, UK-based consulting firm Henley & Partners listed Singapore as the world's most powerful passport for the second year in a row. It has access to a total of 195 destinations.
Ranked in second place is the Japanese passport, with a visa-free score of 193. The third space is shared by six countries: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, and Spain. The United Arab Emirates is the only Middle Eastern country to make it into the top ten. It has risen 55 places overall in the index since 2010.
A strong passport provides more freedom to travel without needing to apply for a visa.
Nepal, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan are ranked in the bottom five spaces. Compared to Singapore, which allows visa-free access to 195 countries and territories, holding an Afghan passport only allows visa-free access to 26 countries.