The United States passport has slipped to 10th place in this year's global ranking of the world's most powerful travel documents, its lowest standing since
2016. The ranking comes from the Henley Passport Index, which measures how many of 227 travel destinations passport holders from 199 countries can enter without needing a visa in advance. More than 30 countries, factoring in ties, now rank ahead of the United States. Back in 2016, the American passport sat comfortably in fourth place. Since then, it has slipped gradually almost every year. It fell to fifth in both 2017 and 2018, then to sixth in 2019, then to seventh, where it stayed for several years through 2024. Last year it dropped further to ninth, and now it has fallen to 10th, tied with Iceland.
Who's on Top Now
Singapore currently holds the number one spot on the index. Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are tied for second place. Sweden follows in third, while a large group of European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain, share fourth place.READ MORE: Trump Passports: Trump-Themed 'Patriot Passport' Now Available Nationwide, State Department Says
A number of other nations round out the top ten, including Austria, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Switzerland tied at fifth, followed by Hungary, Poland and the United Kingdom at sixth. Australia, Canada, Czechia, Latvia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Slovenia share seventh place, with Croatia and Estonia tied at eighth and Liechtenstein and Lithuania tied at ninth.
Why the US Is Slipping
According to a report from Newsweek, experts caution that this drop doesn't mean the American passport has suddenly become far less powerful. Rather, it reflects how aggressively other countries have been working to expand travel freedom for their own citizens, striking new visa waiver agreements and diplomatic deals that open up more destinations without a visa requirement.In other words, the US passport hasn't necessarily gotten weaker in absolute terms. It's more that other nations have been moving faster to strengthen their own standing, allowing them to leapfrog the United States in the rankings over time.
