NEW DELHI, Oct 16: For the first time, the United States has dropped out of the top 10 most powerful passports in the world.
According to the latest Henley Passport Index, which measures how many countries travellers can visit without a visa, the US passport now ranks 12th globally, sharing the position with Malaysia, with visa-free access to 180 of 227 destinations worldwide.
Last year, the US held seventh place and fell to tenth in July this year. In 2014, it was at the top of the list. India’s passport has also dropped down. Its rank in the Henley Passport Index has fallen to 85, with visa-free access to 57 countries. Last year, India’s passport was ranked 80th on the list with visa-free travel to 62 destinations.
In the 2025 rankings, three Asian countries are at the top of the leader-board. Singapore tops the list with visa-free access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea with 190 and Japan with 189.
“The declining strength of the US passport over the past decade is more than just a reshuffle in rankings – it signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics,” said Christian H Kaelin, chair of Henley & Partners, and creator of the index. “Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging ahead, while those resting on past privilege are being left behind,” he added.
The fall is linked to a series of changes and a lack of reciprocity. In April, Brazil withdrew visa-free entry for travellers from the US, Canada, and Australia due to a lack of reciprocal treatment.
Meanwhile, China has eased entry rules for dozens of European nations, such as Germany and France, but not for the US. Other countries, including Papua New Guinea and Myanmar, have changed their policies in ways that benefited other nations’ rankings but weakened the US rank. The final hit came from Somalia’s new eVisa system and Vietnam’s decision to exclude the US from its latest visa-free additions.
The decline in ranking also coincides with tighter US immigration and travel policies introduced under the Trump administration. Henley & Partners, in their press release, said that reciprocity plays a major role in rankings. While Americans can enter 180 destinations visa-free, the US itself grants visa-free entry to only 46 countries.
The World’s Most Powerful Passports In 2025
- Singapore – 193 destinations
- South Korea – 190
- Japan – 189
- Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland – 188
- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands – 187
- Greece, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden – 186
- Australia, Czech Republic, Malta, Poland – 185
- Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, UAE, UK – 184
- Canada – 183
- Latvia, Liechtenstein – 182
- Iceland, Lithuania – 181
- USA, Malaysia – 180
(Manas Dasgupta)