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. Like many things, not all passports are valued the same – the freedom to travel is different depending on where you are from. A powerful passport like the Japanese passport, allows you to travel to 190 countries visa-free or with minor pre-travel documentation. For passport holders from Nepal, that number drops down to 38 countries. There are three major organizations that provide a yearly passport strength ranking: the Henley Passport Index, 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 2025 Why These Passports Rank Highest U.S. Passport Strength and Its Global Standing Complete Passport Strength Rankings of Every Country in the World The World’s Most Powerful Passports in 2025 The world’s most powerful passports include those from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland. There are three main rankings of passport strength that have gained global credibility over the past decade: Passport Index, Henley & Partners and Nomad Capitalist. Both Passport Index and Henley & Partners base their rankings on the number of visa-free destinations a holder of that country’s passport can visit, with slight variations in definitions of “visa-free.” Nomad Capitalist considers travel mobility alongside taxation of citizens, perception, dual citizenship and personal freedom. Here are the most recent top 10 passports according to each of three rankings: Passport Index Henley & Partners Nomad Capitalist United Arab Emirates Singapore Switzerland Spain Japan Ireland Singapore South Korea Portugal France Denmark Luxembourg Germany Finland Finland Finland France United Arab Emirates Italy Germany Netherlands Netherlands Ireland Norway Belgium Italy Germany Luxembourg Spain New Zealand ✏️ Note: All ranking systems have been adjusted to follow a modified competition ranking or dense ranking. In this system, when there is a tie the next rank immediately follows the rank of the tied items, without skipping numbers. Need to renew your passport before travel? Find out how to get a U.S. Passport in 2 weeks or less. Why These Passports Rank Highest These top 10 passports represent the strongest passports in the world. 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 passport-issuing countries – 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 – ETAs (no pre-departure approval) – Visa-free – Visa on arrival – ETA – eVisa (within 3 days) Scoring – Mobility Score (MS) – UNDP HDI to break ties – 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 – Real-time updates Treatment of ETA and eVisa – Includes eVisa if issued within 3 days – ETAs are visa-free if no pre-approval – 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.For example, the recent introduction of an online travel authorization requirement for U.S. citizens visiting the Schengen Zone in Europe from 2025 highlights the impact of diplomatic negotiations on passport power. This change aligns with broader trends in European countries, where entry requirements are increasingly standardized for travelers from countries outside the EU. Countries That Consistently Rank Third Place or Higher Only a handful of countries make it into the third place tier or higher across all three passport ranking systems. These countries combine broad visa-free access, strong international perception, and favorable travel freedoms. Here are the standout performers: Finland Germany Italy U.S. Passport Strength and Its Global Standing The U.S. passport currently ranks between 8th and 11th place depending on the ranking system system. The U.S. passport offers access to 170 destinations with visa-free, ETA, e-Visa, or VOA. This ranking has declined in 2025 due to diplomatic tensions and stricter visa requirements from other countries. Based on the Nomad Capitalist ranking, the United States ranks lower at 11th in the world with 43 countries having the same or a better score. The U.S. is above average on Travel and Dual Citizenship, average in Perception and Freedom and below average on Taxation. 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. Average Score U.S.A Score Complete Passport Strength Rankings of Every Country in the World Here is a breakdown of the current ranking of every country in the world based on each of the three main passport strengths ranking systems: Reset Country Passportindex.org Henley & Partners Nomad United Arab Emirates 1 9 3 Spain 2 2 8 Switzerland 3 5 1 Germany 3 2 3 Italy 3 2 3 Netherlands 3 3 3 Luxembourg 3 3 3 France 3 2 4 Austria 3 3 6 Ireland 4 3 1 Finland 4 3 3 Sweden 4 3 4 Belgium 4 4 4 Portugal 5 5 2 Norway 5 5 3 Greece 5 6 3 Denmark 5 4 4 Poland 5 7 6 Hungary 5 7 6 United Kingdom 6 4 4 Czech Republic 6 7 4 Singapore 6 1 6 South Korea 6 3 7 New Zealand 7 6 3 Estonia 7 9 5 Lithuania 7 9 5 Slovakia 7 10 7 Japan 7 2 8 Malta 8 6 4 Latvia 8 10 5 Croatia 8 12 6 Canada 8 7 8 Slovenia 8 10 8 Australia 8 6 9 United States of America 8 8 11 Iceland 9 11 3 Romania 9 16 6 Liechtenstein 9 14 7 Bulgaria 9 16 7 Cyprus 10 15 6 Monaco 11 16 6 Malaysia 11 13 9 Brazil 12 19 11 Argentina 13 18 10 Chile 14 17 9 San Marino 15 19 12 Hong Kong 16 20 13 Andorra 16 20 13 Brunei 17 22 16 Israel 17 21 17 Barbados 18 23 14 Bahamas 19 25 13 Mexico 19 24 15 Uruguay 20 27 12 Vatican City 20 28 12 Ukraine 21 32 25 Peru 22 36 17 Saint Kitts and Nevis 23 27 13 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 23 26 17 Seychelles 24 28 16 Costa Rica 25 30 15 Antigua and Barbuda 26 29 15 Trinidad and Tobago 27 31 18 Paraguay 27 33 18 Macao 28 34 21 Saint Lucia 29 32 17 Mauritius 29 31 22 Panama 30 32 20 Grenada 31 32 18 Colombia 31 39 23 Serbia 32 37 20 Taiwan 33 35 24 Solomon Islands 33 39 26 Dominica 34 35 19 Georgia 34 49 23 El Salvador 35 38 25 Guatemala 35 38 27 Honduras 36 40 24 Samoa 36 41 27 Montenegro 37 45 26 North Macedonia 37 46 27 Tuvalu 38 44 24 Russian Federation 38 50 32 Turkey 39 51 27 Kiribati 39 47 29 Venezuela 39 46 35 Tonga 40 42 26 Marshall Islands 40 43 28 Nicaragua 41 43 29 Palau 42 48 25 Moldova 42 49 31 Bosnia and Herzegovina 42 48 32 Albania 43 48 28 Micronesia 43 47 30 Qatar 44 52 32 South Africa 45 52 37 Kuwait 46 54 33 Saudi Arabia 47 60 41 Ecuador 48 57 37 Bahrain 48 60 38 Belize 49 53 36 Maldives 49 56 39 Timor-Leste 49 55 41 Oman 50 61 28 Jamaica 50 60 41 Vanuatu 51 58 34 Thailand 51 63 37 Guyana 51 59 41 Fiji 51 60 41 China 52 60 47 Indonesia 53 68 44 Belarus 53 65 51 Nauru 54 59 42 Kosovo 54 68 46 Kazakhstan 54 67 48 Botswana 55 59 40 Suriname 56 65 45 Bolivia 57 64 43 Papua New Guinea 57 62 48 Dominican Republic 58 71 42 Armenia 58 74 45 Lesotho 58 66 48 Morocco 59 72 49 Azerbaijan 59 72 51 Eswatini 60 69 50 Namibia 61 65 46 Malawi 61 70 46 Tunisia 61 73 51 Mongolia 61 79 51 Philippines 62 74 49 Kenya 63 70 52 Zambia 64 73 48 Cape Verde 64 74 50 Cuba 64 79 55 Tanzania 65 72 53 Ghana 65 75 53 Rwanda 66 77 51 Uganda 67 73 52 Gambia 67 73 54 Kyrgyzstan 67 78 56 Uzbekistan 67 79 56 India 67 81 56 Sao Tome and Principe 68 81 54 Tajikistan 69 82 55 Zimbabwe 69 77 57 Cambodia 70 86 53 Gabon 70 81 56 Vietnam 70 87 60 Sierra Leone 71 76 54 Mozambique 71 79 56 Madagascar 71 82 57 Benin 71 80 59 Burkina Faso 71 82 59 Senegal 72 84 58 Egypt 73 87 57 Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 73 83 58 Equatorial Guinea 73 84 58 Togo 73 82 59 Algeria 73 86 60 Bhutan 74 87 55 Niger 74 85 59 Jordan 74 86 59 Mauritania 74 83 61 Angola 75 89 54 Guinea 75 83 63 Comoros 76 87 55 Mali 76 86 57 Turkmenistan 76 90 65 Guinea-Bissau 77 86 58 Djibouti 77 92 59 Laos 77 91 60 Haiti 77 87 62 Central African Republic 78 88 60 Chad 78 87 62 Cameroon 79 89 62 Liberia 80 91 59 Burundi 80 91 62 Lebanon 81 96 59 Congo (Rep.) 81 90 66 Myanmar 82 93 67 Ethiopia 82 94 67 Sri Lanka 83 97 60 Iran 83 96 68 Nepal 84 101 64 Congo (Dem. Rep.) 84 94 65 Nigeria 84 96 65 South Sudan 84 95 66 Sudan 85 96 67 Eritrea 85 98 71 Libya 86 101 69 North Korea 86 99 70 Palestinian Territories 87 100 68 Bangladesh 88 99 65 Yemen 89 103 72 Somalia 90 102 70 Pakistan 90 104 71 Iraq 91 105 73 Afghanistan 92 107 74 Syria 93 106 70 Looking to put that passport to good use? See our award-winning teen travel programs to countries around the world. » MORE: Comparing Passport Costs: The World’s Most Expensive How to Get a U.S. Passport for Your Child A Guide to Renewing Your U.S. Passport Abroad A Guide to Renewing Your U.S. Passport Before Travel What to Do if Your Passport is Lost During Travel