The title of the world’s most powerful passport was recently awarded to Singapore.
The 2024 honor was bestowed by the Henley Passport Index, which provides a “ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.”
Citizens of Singapore can travel to 195 destinations visa-free, as opposed to the U.S., which did not even make the top five, and took home 8th in the rankings, providing access to only 186 destinations.
Launched by the London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, the index receives exclusive information from the International Air Transport Authority to assess “where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum.”
There was a five-way tie for second place, with Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, which all provide visa-free travel to 192 destinations, all taking the spot together.
In third place was seven countries — South Korea, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, which all provide access to 191 destinations.
The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland landed in fourth, with entry to 190 destinations, and Australia and Portugal took the No.5 spot with 189 destinations.
In last place was Afghanistan, where citizens can only go abroad to 26 countries sans a visa.
