The U.S. has fallen out of the top 10 most powerful passports for the first time in the 20-year history of a leading global index.
The U.S. dropped into a tie for No. 12 in the latest rankings of the Henley Passport Index, down from seventh in 2024 and No. 1 in 2014. The U.S. was also No. 1 when the index debuted in 2006.
American passport holders can now access 180 of 227 destinations worldwide without a prior visa — a total that puts the U.S. in a tie with Malaysia.
The decline of the U.S. passport began after it lost visa-free access to Brazil in April over reciprocity issues and was excluded from China’s growing visa-free list.
Further changes by Papua New Guinea and Myanmar chipped away at the U.S. score, while benefiting other nations' passports. More recently, Somalia's rollout of an e-Visa system and Vietnam's decision to leave the U.S. off its new visa-free list delivered the final blow, knocking it out of the top 10, The Independent reported.
"The declining strength of the U.S. passport over the past decade is more than just a reshuffle in rankings — it signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics. Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging ahead, while those resting on past privilege are being left behind," Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners, said in his analysis.
Singapore leads the global passport ranking with visa-free access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea with 190 and Japan with 189. Five European countries are tied for fourth place, and another seven European nations are tied for fifth.
The U.K. passport has dropped to its lowest position ever, falling from sixth to eighth place, despite once topping the index in 2015.
Coming in last place in the index is Afghanistan, with visa-free access to 24 destinations.
The index is powered by data from the International Air Transport Association.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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