In the latest update of the world’s most powerful passports, Singapore takes the lead while France remains a strong contender. Here’s a look at the top 10 passports offering the greatest travel freedom.
In the realm of international travel, the ease of crossing borders can greatly depend on one’s nationality. To gauge the strength of passports in terms of travel freedom (visa-free, visa on arrival, or e-visa), Henley & Partners, a citizenship consultancy firm, releases a global ranking every three to six months. This ranking considers 199 passports and 227 destinations, drawing on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which comprises 250 airlines worldwide.
In January 2024, France had claimed the top spot in this esteemed ranking. However, the most recent update, released on July 23, saw France relinquishing its crown to Singapore. Citizens of the Asian city-state can now visit 195 out of 227 destinations without a visa. Despite this slight drop, the French passport remains one of the world’s most powerful, ranking second with visa-free access to 192 countries. Conversely, France, along with Germany, Italy, and Spain, is more restrictive towards foreign citizens, granting visa-free access only to those from 93 countries.
Here are the top 10 most powerful passports in the world in 2024:
1 – Singapore: 195 visa-free destinations
2 – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain: 192 visa-free destinations
3 – Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden: 191 visa-free destinations
4 – Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom: 190 visa-free destinations
5 – Australia, Portugal: 189 visa-free destinations
6 – Greece, Poland: 188 visa-free destinations
7 – Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta: 187 visa-free destinations
8 – United States: 186 visa-free destinations
9 – Estonia, Lithuania, United Arab Emirates: 185 visa-free destinations
10 – Iceland, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia: 184 visa-free destinations
Unsurprisingly, the top 10 is dominated by European countries. Germany, Italy, and Spain are tied with France. Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden occupy the third spot on the podium with 191 visa-free countries. Ten years ago, in 2014, the United Kingdom and the United States, former passport powerhouses, jointly held the top spot in the index. However, these two countries have now respectively fallen to the 4th and 8th place.
The general trend over the past two decades has been towards greater travel freedom. The average global number of destinations that travelers can access without a visa has almost doubled, rising from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024. However, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now larger than it has ever been. Singapore, ranked first, can access a record number of 169 more visa-free destinations than Afghanistan, comments Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners.
At the bottom of the ranking, we find Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Citizens of these countries can respectively travel to 26, 28, and 31 countries without a visa. This situation underscores the persistent challenges faced by citizens of these countries in terms of international mobility.