Ranked: The world's most powerful passports in 2024
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- The Henley Passport Index ranks the most powerful passports in the world for visa-free travel.
- Singapore is in the top spot with its passport, which allows holders to travel to 195 countries.
- The US passport can access 188 countries, behind passports from 27 other countries.
Thinking of visiting China, India, or Venezuela with a US passport for your summer vacation? Not so fast — or at least not before securing a visa. Some of the best wonders of the world require US citizens to obtain a visa before take-off, an inconvenience in planning that long-awaited international getaway.
US passport holders can access 188 countries globally without a visa, putting it in eighth place among world passports on the global mobility spectrum, according to the 2024 Henley Passport Index. Passports from 27 other countries provide more global mobility than a US passport.
The index is a ranking of passports based on how many countries their holders can access without a visa and is based on data from the International Air Transport Authority.
Singapore is in the top spot with its passport, which allows holders to travel to 195 countries without first securing a visa. Japan had previously held the No. 1 position but has since fallen to No. 2, joining France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, which all allow access to 194 countries.
Below are the countries with the most powerful passports, ranked by ascending number of visa-free travel options, based on the Henley Passport Index. This ranking is accurate as of June 2024.
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Zoe Rosenberg contributed to an earlier version of this report. This story was first published in January 2023 and updates were made in January 2024 and June 2024.