Singapore has been recognized as the country with the most powerful passport in the world in 2024.
Its citizens can visit a record 195 countries without a visa, making them the most privileged travelers in the world, according to the latest Henley Passport Index.
The city-state surpasses a group of countries that shared the top spot earlier this year; France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain have fallen to second place, each with access to 192 countries without a visa.
“The overall trend over the last two decades has been towards greater travel freedom, with the global average number of destinations that travelers can access without a visa nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024,” comments Christian H. Kaelin, president of Henley & Partners who pioneered the passport index concept.
However, the global mobility gap between those at the top and the bottom of the index is now wider than ever, with Singapore, the top-ranked, able to access a record 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan.”
Which countries have the most powerful passports in 2024?
Singapore has reclaimed the title, offering its citizens visa-free access to an impressive 195 travel destinations out of 227 worldwide.
The European countries France, Germany, Italy, and Spain dominate in second place, alongside the previous title holder, Japan.
The third place is occupied by an “unprecedented” group of seven nations, each with access to 191 destinations without prior visa: Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden.
The United Kingdom is in fourth place along with Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland, despite its visa-free destination score dropping to 190.
Great Britain and the USA have fallen in the rankings since they shared the top spot a decade ago – with the latter now in eighth place.
The United Arab Emirates is in the top 10 for the first time, having added 152 destinations since the index began in 2006 to reach its current visa exemption score of 185.
Which countries have the least powerful passports?
Afghanistan remains stuck at the bottom of the pile, losing access to one more destination in the last six months. Citizens of the Taliban-controlled country now have visa-free access to only 26 countries – the lowest score ever recorded in the Henley index.
The biggest drop in the last decade is Venezuela, which fell 17 positions, from 25th to 42nd in the ranking.
Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, and Bangladesh have also dropped in the rankings recently.
Meanwhile, China and Ukraine are among the top 10 countries that have risen the most in the rankings over the last decade.
Source: Euronews