Countries in different parts of the world are becoming more and more open to each other, citizens get the right to visa-free entry to countries in other regions, as a result of which connections are strengthened and passenger traffic increases. Global mobility affects the level of tourism development and economic growth. Find out which countries in the world have the strongest passports and what general trends the level of mobility in the world shows

The British investment migration consulting company Henley & Partners published new data from the Henley Passport Index expert rating in January 2025.

On July 23, the British investment migration consulting company Henley & Partners published new expert rating data.

According to the analysis, Singapore became the country with the strongest passport. In addition to the fact that the city-state quickly jumped to the first step, significantly ahead of its competitors, Singapore also managed to set a new world record.

Read list of strongest passports in world and changes in global mobility indices in this article.

What is the Henley Passport Index?

The Henley Passport Index is an original, authoritative ranking of all passports in the world based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a visa. The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the largest and most accurate travel information database – and refined by research group Henley & Partners.

Rating of the strongest passports in the world in January 2025

1st place - Singapore

Singapore breaks out of the group of leaders and is the only one to occupy the first place in the ranking of the strongest passports in the world in 2025 The city-state also sets a new record: its citizens now have visa-free access to 195 out of 227 tourist destinations worldwide.

2nd place – Japan

Japan ranks second with access to 193 destinations, including the restoration of visa-free travel to China following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

3rd place – Finland, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain

Citizens of these seven states can visit 191 countries in the world without a visa.

4th place - Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden

The indicator of these countries fell to the level of 190 countries.

5th place – Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom

The index of these countries has fallen to the level of 190 states.

6th place – Australia, Greece

Citizens of Australia and Greece can visit 189 destinations without a visa.

7th place – Canada, Malta, Poland

Representatives of these countries can visit 188 destinations without a visa.

8th place – Czech Republic, Hungary

The Czech Republic and Hungary share eighth place, providing impressive access to 187 destinations without a visa.

Least powerful passports in 2025

Afghanistan remains firmly entrenched as the weakest passport in the world. Given that the country has lost access to one more destination in the past six months, citizens of the country can now travel visa-free to just 26 countries – the lowest figure in the 19-year-old index's history.

Citizens of Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia also have certain travel restrictions.

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To find out to which countries you have the right to travel without a visa, we advise you to contact a migration specialist. Qualified specialists with a legal education will help you understand all the intricacies of the law and find the maximum number of visa-free travel destinations.

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General trends in the ranking of global mobility in the world

Overall, the mobility trend over the past 20 years has shown greater freedom of travel. Moreover, the number of destinations where travelers can get visa-free access has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.

However, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now wider than ever. Citizens of Singapore can visit 169 more countries without a visa than citizens of Afghanistan.

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On which day of the week is best to book airline tickets to save money, read here.

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Dynamics of mobility in different countries

This year, the UAE entered the Top 10 ranking. Since the establishment of the rating in 2006, the country managed to add 152 visa-free destinations. Currently, citizens of the state can enter 185 countries without obtaining a permit in advance. In general, the country rose in the rating by 53 positions, from 62nd place to 9th. This rise is the result of the active work of the UAE government, which positions the state as a global center for business, tourism and investment.

China and Ukraine are among the top 10 countries that have risen the highest in the rating over the last decade. In particular, China rose 24 positions from 83rd to 59th (with visa-free access to 85 destinations), while Ukraine advanced 23 positions, from 53rd to 30th, its citizens can visit 148 destinations without a visa.

It is worth noting the gradual decline in the rating of passports of Great Britain and the USA. Back in 2014, the countries were on the first step, but now every year they are inferior to other countries. The UK is currently in fourth place, while the US is already 8th in the ranking, with visa-free access to only 186 destinations.

The biggest drop over the last decade was demonstrated by Venezuela, which dropped 17 positions from 25th to 42nd place. Yemen fell 15 places to 100th in the ranking, while Nigeria and Syria fell 13 places to 92nd and 102nd respectively. Bangladesh is the 5th fastest-growing country, falling 11 places from 86th to 97th in the last 10 years.

Overall, the Henley Passport Index study shows a strong relationship between a country's visa-free status and its economic prosperity. Countries with higher visa-free rates tend to have higher GDP per capita, increased foreign direct investment and stronger international trade relations.

Refusal rate for Schengen visas

In addition to studying the ranking of the most powerful passports in the world, the latest study by Henley Passport Index analyzes the refusal rate when obtaining a Schengen visa.

The results show that about 3 in 10, or 30%, of African Schengen visa applicants are refused, compared to 1 in 10 applicants worldwide. It is also worth adding here that the continent shows the lowest number of visa applications per capita.

Additionally, the following dynamics are observed - the poorer the African country, the higher the refusal rate for its citizens. Citizens of the following countries were most often refused a Schengen visa: Algeria (45.8%), Guinea-Bissau (45.2%), Nigeria (45.1%), Ghana (43.6%), Senegal (41.6%). ), Guinea (40.6%) and Mali (39.9%). In contrast, only one in twenty-five applicants living in the US, Canada or the UK were rejected. Algerians face rejection 10 times more often than Canadian applicants, Nigerians face almost three times the rejection rate of Turkish applicants (15.5%) and double that of Iranians (23.7%).

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The most common mistakes when applying for a Schengen visa in 2024 in this article.

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Rating of the most open countries in the world

According to the latest index, there are 13 fully open countries in the world that offer visa-free entry or visa-on-arrival to holders of all 198 of the world's passports - these are Burundi, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Maldives, Micronesia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Samoa, Timor-Leste and Tuvalu.

Three countries do not allow visa-free access to citizens of any state in the world - these are Afghanistan, North Korea and Turkmenistan.

It is also worth noting that Singapore, which is the country with the strongest passport, shows a fairly good indicator of openness. The dynamic city-state grants visa-free entry to citizens of 164 countries out of 199.

In general, the rapid development of global mobility can be observed in recent years. More and more countries seek to simplify migration legislation, because the possibility of free movement directly affects the level of economic development and investment attractiveness of states.

We will remind you! Five southern African countries plan to introduce a single visa to facilitate the movement of tourists in the region. The Persian Gulf states also announced similar plans. Find out which countries you can visit using the simplified system very soon in this article.

Photo: Acko.com

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