The passport of the tiny Southeast Asian nation officially ranks as the world’s most potent, allowing holders to visit 192 out of 227 global destinations without a visa. The new designation comes from the Henley Passport Index, a ranking created by the international investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners. The index is updated quarterly and based on the number of countries and territories passport holders can visit without a visa.
In a “major shake-up,” Singapore took the top spot, beating out Japan, which had topped the list for five years. The Henley Passport Index reported that Germany, Italy, and Spain now sit in second place with visa-free access to 190 global destinations in a three-way tie. Meanwhile, Japan slips to the third rank, sharing that spot with passport holders from Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden.
Henley & Partners pointed out that a strong passport is vital for facilitating travel and global investment and business opportunities. It is a significant factor in wealth creation and preservation as geopolitical volatility and global connectivity importance increase. The Henley Passport Index serves as a benchmark tool for individuals, families, and businesses to assess the status of their current passports compared to other jurisdictions.
Singapore, whose citizens have visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to 192 nations and territories around the globe, has jumped up the list by 25 places over the past decade. It has climbed over five spots to surpass the United States, which currently sits in eighth place, a sign of how much its power has declined in recent years.
Landing the privilege to use the city-state’s travel document can be challenging. The country of 5.6 million granted citizenship to just 23,100 people last year, and authorities earlier this year ruled out doing so based on net worth.
South Korea, the Philippines, Italy, and Sweden ranked in the top 10. The U.K., which slipped down two positions in the latest ranking to fourth place, is a rare bright spot among developed economies, having risen four since 2017. HOWEVER, the U.S. continues its slide and is unlikely to regain the number one spot any time soon. That is a warning to other nations, said Greg Lindsay, an urban tech fellow at Cornell Tech’s Jacobs Institute. “The United States’ relentless decline down the rankings and its likely relegation to number two within a few years is a cautionary tale to other countries looking to increase their travel freedom,” he said in a statement released alongside the Henley Passport Index. “The United States is falling behind and will be overtaken by several smaller, emerging economies in 2023 and beyond.” Henley’s methodology differs from other global passport ranking lists that consider factors such as ease of travel and visa application process, excluding visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel for most nationalities, and focusing on a maximum of ten travel destinations per country.
