Ranked: world’s most powerful passports 2022

Japan and Singapore have the world’s most powerful passports with the UK and US in joint-sixth. We take a look at the rest of the results

It feels a little masochistic to look at the world’s most powerful passports after yet another year of recurring lockdowns. However, as we’ve said before, we remain hopeful about the future of travel. We believe that exploration is a human instinct and that as soon as it is safe, people will return to the road.

With this in mind, we take a look at the newly released ranking of the world’s most powerful passports, compiled by Henley Passport Index. With historical data spanning 17 years, the index ranks passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

What are the world’s most powerful passports?

Japan and Singapore jointly have the world’s most powerful passports in 2022, granting easy access to 192 destinations. They are followed by Germany and South Korea in joint-third. The 10 most powerful passports are below.

• Japan, 192 destinations
• Singapore, 192
• Germany, 190
• South Korea, 190
• Finland, 189
• Italy, 189
• Luxembourg, 189
• Spain, 189
• Austria, 188
• Denmark, 188

What are the world’s least powerful passports?

Afghanistan is the world’s least powerful passport in 2022, granting easy access to only 26 destinations. It ranks just below Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen. The 10 least powerful passports are below.

• Libya, 40 destinations
• North Korea, 39
• Nepal, 37
• Palestinian Territory, 37
• Somalia, 34
• Yemen, 33
• Pakistan, 31
• Syria, 29
• Iraq, 28
• Afghanistan, 26

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

Japan has taken the top spot of the index for the fourth consecutive year, either alone or jointly with Singapore. This year it is once again joined by Singapore.

Over the past eight years, the US passport has fallen from the number one spot to sixth place, a position it currently shares with the UK, Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand and Belgium.

North Korea has visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 39 destinations. This includes only one country in Europe: Belarus. 

The UAE has continued its remarkable upward trajectory. In 2022, it has a score of 175 to take 15th place on the ranking. This is a rapid ascent from 2006 when it had a score of just 35 and ranked 62nd.

The biggest climbers over the past decade are UAE, Colombia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, Georgia and Peru. In contrast, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria, Libya, The Gambia and Sierra Leone have fared the worst. 

World’s most powerful passports – ranked

Rank	Country	Score
1	Japan	192
	Singapore	192
2	Germany	190
	South Korea	190
3	Finland	189
	Italy	189
	Luxembourg	189
	Spain	189
4	Austria	188
	Denmark	188
	France	188
	Netherlands	188
	Sweden	188
5	Ireland	187
	Portugal	187
6	Belgium	186
	New Zealand	186
	Norway	186
	Switzerland	186
	UK	186
	USA	186
7	Australia	185
	Canada	185
	Czech Rep	185
	Greece	185
	Malta	185
8	Hungary	183
	Poland	183
9	Lithuania	182
	Slovakia	182
10	Estonia	181
	Latvia	181
	Slovenia	181
11	Iceland	180
12	Malaysia	179
13	Liechtenstein	178
14	Cyprus	176
15	UAE	175
16	Chile	174
	Monaco	174
	Romania	174
17	Bulgaria	173
	Croatia	173
18	Hong Kong (SAR)	171
19	Argentina	170
20	Brazil	169
	San Marino	169
21	Andorra	168
22	Brunei	166
23	Barbados	161
24	Israel	159
24	Mexico	159
25	St Kitts & Nevis	157
26	Bahamas	155
27	Uruguay	153
	Vatican City	153
28	Seychelles	152
29	St Vincent & Gren	151
30	Antigua & Barbuda	150
	Costa Rica	150
	Trinidad & Tobago	150
31	Mauritius	146
	St. Lucia	146
32	Taiwan	145
33	Dominica	144
	Grenada	144
	Macao (SAR)	144
34	Panama	142
35	Paraguay	141
	Ukraine	141
36	Peru	135
	Serbia	135
	Vanuatu	135
37	El Salvador	134
38	Guatemala	133
	Honduras	133
39	Colombia	131
	Samoa	131
	Solomon Islands	131
40	Tonga	129
	Venezuela	129
41	Nicaragua	127
	Tuvalu	127
42	North Macedonia	125
43	Kiribati	123
	Montenegro	123
44	Marshall Islands	122
45	Moldova	120
46	Palau	119
	Russia	119
47	Bosnia & Herz	117
	Micronesia	117
48	Georgia	115
49	Albania	114
50	Turkey	110
51	South Africa	104
52	Belize	101
53	Qatar	97
54	Kuwait	95
55	Timor-Leste	93
56	Ecuador	91
57	Nauru	89
58	Fiji	88
	Maldives	88
59	Guyana	87
60	Botswana	86
61	Jamaica	85
62	Bahrain	84
63	Papua New Guinea	82
64	China	80
	Oman	80
65	Belarus	79
	Bolivia	79
	Saudi Arabia	79
	Thailand	79
66	Namibia	78
67	Lesotho	77
	Suriname	77
68	Kazakhstan	75
69	eSwatini	74
70	Malawi	73
71	Kenya	72
	Tanzania	72
72	Indonesia	71
	Tunisia	71
	Zambia	71
73	Dominican Rep	70
74	Azerbaijan	69
75	The Gambia	68
76	Uganda	67
77	Cape Verde Islands	66
	Philippines	66
78	Armenia	65
	Zimbabwe	65
79	Cuba	64
	Ghana	64
	Morocco	64
80	Kyrgyzstan	63
	Sierra Leone	63
81	Mozambique	62
82	Benin	61
	Mongolia	61
	Rwanda	61
83	Sao Tome & Prin	60
84	India	59
	Mauritania	59
	Tajikistan	59
85	Burkina Faso	58
86	Gabon	57
	Uzbekistan	57
87	Cote d'Ivoire	56
	Senegal	56
88	Equatorial Guinea	55
	Madagascar	55
89	Guinea	54
	Mali	54
	Togo	54
	Vietnam	54
90	Bhutan	53
	Cambodia	53
	Chad	53
	Comoro Islands	53
	Niger	53
91	Algeria	52
	Central African Rep	52
	Egypt	52
	Guinea-Bissau	52
	Jordan	52
	Turkmenistan	52
92	Burundi	51
93	Angola	50
	Cameroon	50
	Laos	50
94	Liberia	49
95	Congo	48
	Haiti	48
96	Djibouti	47
97	Myanmar	46
98	Ethiopia	45
	Nigeria	45
99	South Sudan	44
100	Eritrea	43
101	DR Congo	42
	Iran	42
102	Lebanon	41
	Sri Lanka	41
	Sudan	41
103	Bangladesh	40
	Kosovo	40
	Libya	40
104	North Korea	39
105	Nepal	37
	Palestinian Territory	37
106	Somalia	34
107	Yemen	33
108	Pakistan	31
109	Syria	29
110	Iraq	28
111	Afghanistan	26

This article is updated annually with the latest available data.

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Lead image: Sachiczko/Shutterstock