As someone who has lived abroad for nearly a third of their life, my passport is one of my most important possessions. Without it, I lose my identity and can’t even go home, let alone to another country. A passport, in essence, is what allows you to move freely around the world, whether that’s relocating overseas or joining a teen travel program abroad. However, not all passports are valued equally – the freedom to travel varies depending on where you are from.
A powerful passport, such as the Japanese passport, allows you to travel to 188 countries visa-free or with minimal pre-travel documentation. For passport holders from Nepal, that number drops down to 34 countries. There are three major organizations that publish passport strength rankings: the Henley Passport Index, the Passport Index, and Nomad Capitalist.
Let’s take a look at how the world’s passports stack up.
In this Guide:
The World’s Most Powerful Passports in 2026
The world’s most powerful passports include those from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Malta. There are three main rankings of passport strength that have gained global credibility over the past decade: Passport Index, Henley & Partners and Nomad Capitalist.
Arton Capital and Henley rank passports by access to destinations, using different rules for which types of entry count. Nomad Capitalist considers travel mobility alongside taxation of citizens, perception, dual citizenship and personal freedom. Here are the first ten passports listed by each publisher.
| Passport Index | Henley & Partners | Nomad Capitalist | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
United Arab Emirates (#1) |  |
Singapore (#1) |  |
Malta (#1) |
|
Singapore (#2) |  |
Japan (#2) |  |
Ireland (#2T) |
 |
Malaysia (#2) |  |
South Korea (#2) |  |
Greece (#2T) |
 |
Belgium (#3) | |
United Arab Emirates (#2) |  |
Romania (#2T) |
 |
Luxembourg (#3) |  |
Sweden (#3) |  |
Cyprus (#5) |
 |
France (#3) | |
Belgium (#4) |  |
Czech Republic (#6T) |
 |
Denmark (#3) | |
Denmark (#4) |  |
New Zealand (#6T) |
 |
Germany (#3) |  |
Finland (#4) |  |
Italy (#6T) |
|
Sweden (#3) | |
France (#4) |  |
Bulgaria (#6T) |
 |
Netherlands (#3) | |
Germany (#4) |  |
Hungary (#10T) |
Note: Rankings were checked on November 9, 2026, using Arton Capital’s Global Passport Power Rank, Henley’s October edition, and the 2026 Nomad Passport Index. The table shows the ranks each publisher assigns. T marks a tie in the Nomad column. Other passports may share the last rank shown in each column.
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Why These Passports Rank Highest
Each index—Passport Index, Henley & Partners and Nomad Capitalist—uses different criteria to evaluate passport strength. Here is a comparison of how they score and rank each country:
| Criteria | Passport Index | Henley & Partners | Nomad Capitalist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Criteria | – 193 UN member countries – 6 territories |
– 199 passports – 227 travel destinations |
– 199 passports from countries and territories |
| Data Sources | – Official government information – Crowd-sourced data – Proprietary research |
– International Air Transport Authority (IATA) – In-house research |
– Government data – Real-time intelligence – Proprietary research |
| Counting as “Visa-Free” | – Visa-free – Visa on arrival – ETA – eVisa (within 3 days) |
– Visa-free – Visa on arrival – Electronic travel authorizations (ETAs) |
– Visa-free – Visa on arrival – ETA – eVisa (within 3 days) |
| Scoring | – Mobility Score (MS) – The Global Power Rank groups equal mobility scores |
– Score of 1 for visa-free or simple entry – Score of 0 for pre-departure approval |
– Visa-free travel (50%) – Taxation (20%) – Perception (10%) – Dual citizenship (10%) – Personal freedom (10%) |
| Updates | – Real-time updates | – Monthly updates | – Annual index edition |
| Treatment of ETA and eVisa | – Includes eVisa if issued within 3 days | – ETAs count toward the access score – eVisas not considered visa-free |
– Includes eVisa if issued within 3 days |
Leading Factors Influencing Visa-Free Access
- Economic Stability: The economic stability of a country significantly contributes to its passport power. Countries with robust economies tend to have more powerful passports due to their stable political environments and strong international relations, which facilitate visa-free agreements with other nations.
- Diplomatic Relations: International relations are key to determining visa-free access. Diplomatic agreements between countries can lead to mutual visa-free, visa-on-arrival, or visitor’s permit policies. The EU’s planned ETIAS travel authorization will apply to eligible U.S. travelers visiting participating European countries once it launches. The EU has yet to announce a start date.
Where the Passport Rankings Agree
No passport ranks in the top three across all three indexes. Each publisher lists a different passport first.
The 2026 leaders are:
- United Arab Emirates leads Arton’s Passport Index.
- Singapore leads the Henley Passport Index.
- Malta leads the Nomad Passport Index.
U.S. Passport Strength and Its Global Standing
Arton’s Passport Index ranks the U.S. passport 9th with a mobility score of 167. Henley ranks it 10th, with access to 180 destinations without a prior visa, including destinations that use an electronic travel authorization or visa on arrival.
Based on the Nomad Capitalist ranking, the United States ranks 43rd in the world. The U.S. scores above the average for all 199 passports on travel, perception, dual citizenship, and freedom. Its taxation score is below the average.
While many U.S. travelers enjoy broad access through electronic travel authorizations or visa waivers, some destinations still require a prior visa, especially for longer stays or work-related visits.
In the chart, travel is scaled to 50 using the highest observed travel score (179). The other categories use Nomad’s 50-point scale. Hover or tap to see the original scores.
Complete Passport Strength Rankings of Every Country in the World
Compare the 199 passports covered by all three indexes. Each column uses the publisher’s own ranks. T marks a tied Nomad rank.
| Country | Arton Capital | Henley & Partners | Nomad |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 2 | 10T |
| Singapore | 2 | 1 | 20T |
| Malaysia | 2 | 6 | 38T |
| Belgium | 3 | 4 | 12T |
| Luxembourg | 3 | 4 | 12T |
| France | 3 | 4 | 24T |
| Denmark | 3 | 4 | 12T |
| Germany | 3 | 4 | 20T |
| Sweden | 3 | 3 | 12T |
| Netherlands | 3 | 4 | 38T |
| Finland | 3 | 4 | 12T |
| Spain | 3 | 4 | 31T |
| Italy | 3 | 4 | 6T |
| Switzerland | 3 | 5 | 12T |
| Greece | 3 | 5 | 2T |
| Portugal | 3 | 5 | 24T |
| Austria | 3 | 5 | 38T |
| Croatia | 3 | 8 | 20T |
| Norway | 3 | 4 | 12T |
| Ireland | 3 | 4 | 2T |
| Japan | 3 | 2 | 41 |
| Malta | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Slovenia | 4 | 7 | 26T |
| Poland | 4 | 6 | 26T |
| Slovakia | 4 | 7 | 31T |
| Hungary | 4 | 6 | 10T |
| Estonia | 4 | 8 | 31T |
| Latvia | 4 | 7 | 12T |
| South Korea | 4 | 2 | 35T |
| Romania | 5 | 11 | 2T |
| Czech Republic | 5 | 7 | 6T |
| Bulgaria | 5 | 11 | 6T |
| Lithuania | 5 | 9 | 31T |
| Cyprus | 6 | 13 | 5 |
| United Kingdom | 6 | 6 | 35T |
| Canada | 7 | 7 | 35T |
| Liechtenstein | 7 | 9 | 20T |
| New Zealand | 7 | 7 | 6T |
| Iceland | 8 | 10 | 30 |
| Australia | 8 | 7 | 26T |
| United States of America | 9 | 10 | 43 |
| Monaco | 10 | 12 | 26T |
| Hong Kong | 11 | 13 | 45T |
| Brazil | 12 | 15 | 42 |
| Argentina | 13 | 16 | 48T |
| Chile | 14 | 14 | 48T |
| Andorra | 15 | 16 | 47 |
| San Marino | 16 | 18 | 44 |
| Israel | 17 | 17 | 66 |
| Brunei | 17 | 20 | 55T |
| Barbados | 17 | 19 | 45T |
| Bahamas | 18 | 21 | 52 |
| Uruguay | 19 | 23 | 50T |
| Mexico | 19 | 23 | 59 |
| Vatican City | 19 | 25 | 53 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 20 | 22 | 50T |
| Peru | 21 | 33 | 60T |
| Seychelles | 22 | 23 | 57 |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 23 | 21 | 55T |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 24 | 24 | 60T |
| Macao | 25 | 31 | 67T |
| Ukraine | 26 | 32 | 73T |
| Costa Rica | 27 | 28 | 54 |
| Mauritius | 28 | 26 | 60T |
| Paraguay | 28 | 30 | 64T |
| Grenada | 29 | 27 | 63 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 29 | 31 | 58 |
| Saint Lucia | 30 | 31 | 64T |
| Panama | 30 | 29 | 67T |
| Solomon Islands | 30 | 36 | 70 |
| Dominica | 31 | 30 | 69 |
| Colombia | 32 | 38 | 77 |
| Serbia | 33 | 35 | 71T |
| Georgia | 34 | 47 | 78T |
| North Macedonia | 35 | 41 | 78T |
| Samoa | 36 | 40 | 71T |
| El Salvador | 36 | 38 | 73T |
| Guatemala | 36 | 37 | 78T |
| Honduras | 37 | 39 | 76 |
| Tuvalu | 38 | 44 | 73T |
| Kiribati | 38 | 47 | 85 |
| Montenegro | 38 | 41 | 82 |
| Taiwan | 39 | 34 | 81 |
| Marshall Islands | 39 | 40 | 86 |
| Tonga | 40 | 42 | 83T |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 40 | 45 | 87T |
| Russian Federation | 41 | 50 | 96 |
| Albania | 41 | 45 | 91T |
| Moldova | 41 | 48 | 87T |
| Nicaragua | 41 | 43 | 91T |
| Venezuela | 41 | 49 | 94 |
| Micronesia | 42 | 46 | 89T |
| Palau | 42 | 48 | 83T |
| Qatar | 43 | 51 | 93 |
| Turkey | 43 | 51 | 89T |
| Kuwait | 44 | 54 | 95 |
| South Africa | 45 | 52 | 97T |
| Maldives | 46 | 55 | 99 |
| Timor-Leste | 46 | 55 | 101T |
| Belize | 47 | 53 | 101T |
| Saudi Arabia | 48 | 57 | 105T |
| Ecuador | 49 | 56 | 100 |
| Bahrain | 50 | 59 | 105T |
| Fiji | 51 | 59 | 107 |
| Jamaica | 52 | 62 | 101T |
| Guyana | 53 | 58 | 104 |
| China | 53 | 62 | 122 |
| Oman | 54 | 61 | 114T |
| Thailand | 54 | 66 | 109T |
| Vanuatu | 55 | 60 | 97T |
| Kosovo | 56 | 63 | 111 |
| Belarus | 56 | 65 | 123T |
| Indonesia | 57 | 71 | 118T |
| Kazakhstan | 57 | 66 | 114T |
| Bolivia | 58 | 67 | 109T |
| Nauru | 59 | 62 | 108 |
| Papua New Guinea | 60 | 62 | 127T |
| Suriname | 60 | 67 | 118T |
| Dominican Republic | 61 | 69 | 113 |
| Azerbaijan | 61 | 73 | 131T |
| Botswana | 62 | 64 | 112 |
| Morocco | 63 | 71 | 116 |
| Lesotho | 64 | 68 | 127T |
| Mongolia | 64 | 77 | 131T |
| Armenia | 64 | 78 | 120 |
| Namibia | 65 | 68 | 117 |
| Eswatini | 65 | 70 | 130 |
| Philippines | 65 | 75 | 135T |
| Malawi | 66 | 71 | 133T |
| Kenya | 66 | 71 | 121 |
| Tunisia | 67 | 76 | 123T |
| Tanzania | 68 | 73 | 143T |
| Cape Verde | 68 | 77 | 125T |
| Ghana | 69 | 74 | 125T |
| Zambia | 69 | 77 | 127T |
| Kyrgyzstan | 69 | 81 | 135T |
| Gambia | 70 | 72 | 133T |
| Rwanda | 70 | 73 | 135T |
| Vietnam | 70 | 89 | 153T |
| Cuba | 70 | 83 | 161T |
| Uganda | 71 | 76 | 135T |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 71 | 81 | 142 |
| India | 71 | 84 | 153T |
| Zimbabwe | 72 | 79 | 139T |
| Uzbekistan | 72 | 82 | 149T |
| Benin | 73 | 76 | 139T |
| Mozambique | 73 | 80 | 147T |
| Gabon | 73 | 83 | 149T |
| Tajikistan | 73 | 87 | 149T |
| Sierra Leone | 74 | 78 | 143T |
| Madagascar | 74 | 83 | 153T |
| Cambodia | 74 | 91 | 143T |
| Algeria | 75 | 84 | 146 |
| Senegal | 76 | 83 | 139T |
| Burkina Faso | 76 | 82 | 147T |
| Equatorial Guinea | 76 | 85 | 173T |
| Angola | 76 | 89 | 153T |
| Togo | 77 | 82 | 149T |
| Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | 77 | 83 | 161T |
| Mauritania | 77 | 84 | 179 |
| Jordan | 77 | 89 | 157T |
| Niger | 78 | 85 | 170 |
| Bhutan | 78 | 91 | 161T |
| Laos | 79 | 92 | 180 |
| Egypt | 79 | 89 | 157T |
| Mali | 80 | 86 | 168T |
| Guinea | 80 | 86 | 159T |
| Comoros | 80 | 88 | 159T |
| Haiti | 81 | 89 | 171T |
| Turkmenistan | 81 | 93 | 173T |
| Central African Republic | 82 | 90 | 177 |
| Djibouti | 82 | 92 | 168T |
| Guinea-Bissau | 83 | 88 | 161T |
| Liberia | 83 | 89 | 165T |
| Chad | 83 | 88 | 173T |
| Congo (Rep.) | 84 | 91 | 171T |
| Cameroon | 84 | 90 | 173T |
| Burundi | 84 | 90 | 182 |
| Lebanon | 85 | 95 | 167 |
| Myanmar | 86 | 94 | 189T |
| Sri Lanka | 87 | 97 | 165T |
| Nigeria | 88 | 92 | 178 |
| Congo (Dem. Rep.) | 88 | 92 | 188 |
| Nepal | 88 | 100 | 184T |
| Iran | 89 | 98 | 193 |
| Sudan | 89 | 95 | 186T |
| Ethiopia | 89 | 95 | 186T |
| Libya | 90 | 96 | 183 |
| South Sudan | 91 | 95 | 181 |
| Bangladesh | 91 | 99 | 184T |
| Eritrea | 91 | 97 | 197T |
| North Korea | 92 | 99 | 195 |
| Palestinian Territories | 93 | 98 | 192 |
| Somalia | 94 | 101 | 191 |
| Pakistan | 94 | 103 | 194 |
| Yemen | 94 | 102 | 189T |
| Iraq | 95 | 104 | 196 |
| Syria | 96 | 105 | 197T |
| Afghanistan | 97 | 106 | 199 |
Looking to put that passport to good use? See our award-winning teen travel programs to countries around the world.
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