Ranked: world’s most powerful passports 2024

In 2024, the world’s most powerful passports are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain. Holders can enter 194 nations visa-free

It’s official. Globally, we are on the move again. In 2023, international travel got going again with arrivals reaching 87% of pre-pandemic levels. An estimated 975 million tourists travelled internationally during the first nine months of 2023, an increase of 38% on the same period of 2022.

With this in mind, we take a look at the recently updated ranking of the world’s most powerful passports, compiled by the Henley Passport Index. With historical data spanning 19 years, the index ranks passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

Increase in Visa-Free Destinations: 2006 versus 2022

The darker blue countries have increased the number of destinations their citizens can access visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival the most. Hover over a country to see the number of destinations it has gained access to since 2006.

How is the ranking calculated?

The Henley Passport Index uses data from the International Air Transport Authority to cross-check 199 passports against 227 possible travel destinations. 

For each travel destination, if no visa is required or a visa-on-arrival is available, the passport in question receives a score of 1. If a visa or other form of government approval is required before departure, the passport receives a score of 0. 

The scores for each passport are added up to produce its total score (i.e. the number of destinations to which it grants access without a prior visa). This is then ranked against all other passports to create the index. 

interesting insights

This year, an unprecedented six countries share the top spot with visa-free access to a record-breaking number of destinations. Japan has been constantly at the top of the index, either alone or jointly, for six consecutive years. 

Over the past nine years, the US passport has fallen from the number one spot (held in 2006 and 2014) to 26th place, a position it currently shares with Canada and Hungary. The UK – which has held the top spot four times previously – is ranked 14th in 2024.

North Korea has visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 42 destinations. This includes only Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Moldovia and Russia in Europe. 

The UAE has continued its remarkable upward trajectory. In 2024, it has a score of 183 to take 35th place in the ranking. This is a rapid ascent from 2006 when it had a score of just 35 and ranked 62nd.

It remains the biggest climber over the past decade, adding an impressive 106 destinations to its visa-free score since 2014, resulting in a massive leap of 44 places in the ranking from 55th to 11th position.

Ukraine and China are also among the most-improved with a net total gain of 21 places each. Both have climbed a further two places since last year. Russia has seen a net gain of 24 destinations over the past decade.

Other big climbers over the last decade include Colombia, Timor-Leste, Georgia and Peru. In contrast, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria, Libya, The Gambia and Sierra Leone have fared the worst. 

World’s most powerful passport – ranked

This article is updated annually with the latest available data.

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