US passport falls out of top 10 most powerful in the world for the first time

Three Asian passports currently lead the rankings: Singapore, with visa-free access to 193 destinations worldwide ; South Korea with 190 destinations; and Japan, with 189 destinations. Meanwhile, the US dropped to 12th place in the most recent quarterly ranking, tied with Malaysia.

Citizens of both countries have visa-free access to 180 of the 227 countries and territories tracked by the index, which was created by London-based global residence and citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners using proprietary data from the International Air Transport Association. Because Henley counts multiple countries with the same score toward one position in the rankings, 36 countries actually rank higher than the US on the list, according to CNN.

Back in 2014, the US held the number one spot, and as of July this year, it is still clinging to the top 10. So what led to this drop in ranking?

Hộ chiếu Mỹ lần đầu văng khỏi top 10 quyền lực nhất thế giới - Ảnh 1. — US passport falls out of top group of most powerful in the world

That’s due to a series of changes in access. In April, Brazil revoked visa-free travel for US, Canadian and Australian citizens due to a lack of reciprocity. China has introduced more welcoming policies, granting visa-free travel to dozens of mostly European countries, including Germany and France, but the US has yet to reach its goal. Papua New Guinea and Myanmar have also adjusted their entry policies, helping other passports rank higher while pushing the US down.

“The decline in the power of the US passport over the past decade is more than just a reshuffling of rankings; it signals a fundamental shift in the dynamics of global mobility and soft power,” Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners, said in a statement. “Open and collaborative countries are rising, while those that relied on past privileges are being left behind.”

The UK passport, which held the top spot in the 2015 rankings, has also dropped to its lowest position ever, falling two places since July, from 6th to 8th.

During the past decade of decline for the UK and the US, China has made a strong climb up the rankings, from 94th in 2015 to 64th in 2025, gaining visa-free access to 37 more countries in the same period.

At the bottom of the list, at 106th, Afghanistan remains at the bottom, with just 24 visa-free destinations, two fewer than at the beginning of the year. Syria is 105th (with 26 destinations) and Iraq is 104th (with 29 destinations).

Most powerful passports in 2025:

1.Singapore (193 destinations)

2.South Korea (190)

3. Japan (189)

4.Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland (188)

5.Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands (187)

6.Greece, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden (186)

7.Australia, Czech Republic, Malta, Poland (185)

8.Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (184)

9. Canada (183)

10.Latvia, Liechtenstein (182)

11.Iceland, Lithuania (181)