World's most powerful passports 2021

As Japan tops the list for the third year running, we take a look at the latest ranking of the world’s most powerful passports

It feels a little masochistic to look at the world’s most powerful passports after a 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 16 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 is the world’s most powerful passport in 2021, granting easy access to 191 destinations. It is followed by Singapore in second place and Germany and South Korea in joint third. The complete top 10 is below.

1. Japan: 191 destinations
2. Singapore: 190
3. Germany: 189
3. South Korea: 189
4. Finland: 188
4. Italy: 188
4. Luxembourg: 188
4. Spain: 188
5. Austria: 187
5. Denmark: 187

What are the world’s least powerful passports?

Afghanistan is the world’s least powerful passport in 2021, granting easy access to only 26 destinations. It ranks just below Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. The bottom 10 are listed below.

103. North Korea: 39 destinations
104. Libya: 38
104. Nepal: 38
105. Palestinian Territory: 37
106. Somalia: 33
106. Yemen: 33
107. Pakistan: 32
108. Syria: 29
109. Iraq: 28
110. Afghanistan: 26

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 holds the top position on the index for the third consecutive year, either alone or jointly with Singapore.

Travel Mania/Shutterstock Japan tops the list of the most powerful passports in the world

Over the past seven years, the US passport has fallen from the number one spot to 7th place, a position it currently shares with the UK.

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 2021, it has a score of 173 and holds 16th spot 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: United Arab Emirates, 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	Passport	Score
1	Japan	191
2	Singapore	190
3	Germany	189
	South Korea	189
4	Finland	188
	Italy	188
	Luxembourg	188
	Spain	188
5	Austria	187
	Denmark	187
6	France	186
	Ireland	186
	Netherlands	186
	Portugal	186
	Sweden	186
7	Belgium	185
	New Zealand	185
	Norway	185
	Switzerland	185
	United Kingdom	185
	United States	185
8	Australia	184
	Czech Republic	184
	Greece	184
	Malta	184
9	Canada	183
10	Hungary	182
11	Iceland	181
	Lithuania	181
	Poland	181
	Slovakia	181
12	Latvia	180
	Slovenia	180
13	Estonia	179
14	Liechtenstein	178
	Malaysia	178
15	Chile	174
	Cyprus	174
	Monaco	174
16	United Arab Emirates	173
17	Romania	172
18	Bulgaria	171
	Croatia	171
19	Argentina	170
	Brazil	170
	Hong Kong (SAR China)	170
20	San Marino	168
21	Andorra	167
22	Brunei	166
23	Barbados	161
	Israel	161
24	Mexico	159
25	St. Kitts and Nevis	156
26	Bahamas	155
27	Uruguay	153
	Vatican City	153
28	Antigua and Barbuda	151
	Seychelles	151
29	Costa Rica	150
	Trinidad and Tobago	150
30	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	148
31	Mauritius	146
	St. Lucia	146
32	Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)	145
33	Grenada	144
	Macao (SAR China)	144
34	Dominica	143
35	Panama	142
36	Paraguay	141
37	Peru	135
38	El Salvador	134
	Honduras	134
	Serbia	134
39	Guatemala	133
40	Samoa	131
	Solomon Islands	131
41	Ukraine	130
	Vanuatu	130
42	Colombia	129
	Nicaragua	129
	Venezuela	129
43	Tuvalu	127
44	Tonga	125
45	Montenegro	124
	North Macedonia	124
46	Kiribati	123
	Marshall Islands	123
47	Moldova	120
	Palau Islands	120
48	Micronesia	118
49	Bosnia and Herzegovina	117
50	Russian Federation	116
51	Georgia	115
52	Albania	114
53	Turkey	110
54	Belize	101
	South Africa	101
55	Kuwait	96
56	Qatar	95
57	Timor-Leste	94
58	Ecuador	92
59	Nauru	89
60	Fiji	88
	Guyana	88
61	Jamaica	86
62	Botswana	85
	Maldives	85
63	Papua New Guinea	84
64	Bahrain	83
65	Oman	80
66	Saudi Arabia	79
	Thailand	79
67	Bolivia	78
	Suriname	78
68	Namibia	77
69	Lesotho	76
70	Belarus	75
	China	75
	Kazakhstan	75
71	eSwatini	74
72	Malawi	73
73	Kenya	72
74	Indonesia	71
	Tanzania	71
	Tunisia	71
	Zambia	71
75	The Gambia	68
76	Azerbaijan	67
	Uganda	67
77	Cape Verde Islands	66
	Dominican Republic	66
	Philippines	66
78	Ghana	65
	Zimbabwe	65
79	Cuba	64
	Morocco	64
80	Armenia	63
	Kyrgyzstan	63
	Sierra Leone	63
81	Benin	62
	Mongolia	62
	Mozambique	62
82	Sao Tome and Principe	61
83	Rwanda	60
84	Burkina Faso	59
	Mauritania	59
85	India	58
	Tajikistan	58
86	Cote d’Ivoire	57
	Gabon	57
	Uzbekistan	57
87	Senegal	56
88	Equatorial Guinea	55
	Guinea	55
	Madagascar	55
	Togo	55
89	Cambodia	54
	Mali	54
	Niger	54
	Vietnam	54
90	Bhutan	53
	Chad	53
	Comoro Islands	53
	Guinea-Bissau	53
	Turkmenistan	53
91	Central African Republic	52
92	Algeria	51
	Jordan	51
93	Angola	50
	Burundi	50
	Egypt	50
	Laos	50
94	Cameroon	49
	Haiti	49
	Liberia	49
95	Congo (Rep.)	48
96	Djibouti	47
	Myanmar	47
97	Nigeria	46
98	Ethiopia	44
99	South Sudan	43
100	Congo (Dem. Rep.)	42
	Eritrea	42
	Sri Lanka	42
101	Bangladesh	41
	Iran	41
102	Kosovo	40
	Lebanon	40
	Sudan	40
103	North Korea	39
104	Libya	38
	Nepal	38
105	Palestinian Territory	37
106	Somalia	33
	Yemen	33
107	Pakistan	32
108	Syria	29
109	Iraq	28
110	Afghanistan	26