The US passport is no longer one of the top 10 most powerful passports in the world for the first time in 20 years. This is a big change in how people move around the world and in how countries work together. The most recent Henley Passport Index shows that the US is now in 12th place, tied with Malaysia. It only lets people travel to 180 of the 227 countries and territories that are being watched.
Asian Passports Are the Most Popular in the World
Singapore still has the most powerful passport in the world, letting its citizens travel to 193 places without a visa. South Korea comes next with access to 190 countries, and Japan comes in third with 189. Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland are all in the top five, showing that European countries are still doing well.
What Made the US Go Down
The American passport’s sudden drop is due to a number of diplomatic failures. Brazil stopped letting US, Canadian, and Australian citizens enter the country without a visa in April. This happened because those countries didn’t do the same for Brazil. China added more European countries to its list of countries whose citizens do not need visas. However, the United States was not one of them. Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Somalia, and Vietnam all made changes to their entry rules that made US passports even weaker.
China and the UAE Are Making Great Progress
Since 2015, China has moved up an amazing 94 places, going from 94th to 64th place in 2025. This means that Chinese citizens can now travel to 37 more places without a visa. The United Arab Emirates is another success story, moving up 34 spots in the last ten years to reach 8th place. Both countries have worked on strategic openness projects. They have signed new deals with Gulf states, South America, and a number of European countries.
The UK passport is also at its lowest rank
The United Kingdom passport, which held the top position in 2015, has dropped to 8th place, down from 6th since July. This is the lowest the UK has ever been on the index, and it’s the same as what happened to the US.
Lowest Rankings and Mobility Gap
Afghanistan is still at the bottom of the list at number 106, with only 24 places it can visit without a visa. Syria is next with 26 destinations, and Iraq is 104th with 29 destinations. There is a staggering mobility gap of 169 destinations between the best and worst passports because of this.
Expert Analysis of Travel Restrictions
Christian Kalin of Henley & Partners said that the drop shows “a change in mobility and power dynamics.” He said that countries that are open and work together are moving ahead. In contrast, those that are stuck in the past are being left behind. Richard Quest, CNN Business’s editor-at-large, said that new rules like ESTAs in the EU and UK are making travel less open. This could be related to immigration policies.
Other Rankings for Passports
The Arton Capital Passport Index uses a different method and updates its rankings in real time all year long. The UAE comes in first on this index with a score of 179 for visa-free and visa-on-arrival travel. Singapore and Spain are next, each with a score of 175.
