The “most powerful” passport of 2025 is Singaporean. Those who have it are those who can travel the most freely around the world, without prior visa requirements, reveals the Henley Passport Index. London-based consultancy Henley & Partners updates this tool to better understand disparities in international mobility approximately every three months, taking into account 199 passports and 227 destinations (countries and territories).
France, third “most powerful” passport
In the new world ranking, Singapore climbs to first position, reports CNN. Having this official document means being able to travel to 195 destinations, without any other document necessary. With 193 destinations accessible without a visa, Japan is close behind, occupying second place in the ranking.
European Union member states including France, Germany, Italy and Spain complete the podium, taking third place. Their nationals can access 192 destinations without a visa thanks to their passports. A number which remains unchanged since the publication of the last ranking, in July 2024.
In fourth position, we find seven countries of the European Union: Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Citizens of these countries can visit 191 destinations. This is one more than Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, whose passports provide access to 190 destinations without a visa.
-The passports that least allow you to travel freely
Conversely, Afghanistan is dead last, with only 26 destinations accessible without a visa. Syria and Iraq are just ahead, in 105th and 104th place respectively, with only 27 and 31 accessible destinations.
The ranking has remained generally stable in recent years. Only the United Arab Emirates have made a notable breakthrough. Their citizens can freely travel to 72 more destinations than in 2015, or 185 in total.
“The very notion of citizenship and its rights acquired by birth must be fundamentally rethought as temperatures rise and natural disasters become more frequent and more serious, displacing communities and making their environments uninhabitable,” believes Christian H. Kaelin, president of Henley and Partners, in a press release. “At the same time, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions are forcing countless people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge,” he observes.
