
Singapore is crowned for the fourth time as the country with the most powerful passport in the world.
Holders of this identification document can travel visa-free to 195 out of 227 countries in the world according to the Henley Passport Index, more than citizens of any other country.
Next comes Japan, which has an open door to 193 destinations, securing the silver medal after regaining visa-free entry to neighboring China for the first time after Covid-19.
European countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain are in third place along with Finland and South Korea as they can enter 192 countries.
The fourth place is a testament to the strength of the European Union's Schengen zone, which guarantees free movement for more than 425 million citizens. It includes seven countries that do not require visas to 191 destinations: Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
In fifth place are Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, which can travel visa-free to 190 countries.
The rest of the top ten is dominated by European countries, with a few exceptions. Australia and Greece are in sixth place, while Malta, Poland and Canada are in seventh.
Eighth place is shared between the Czech Republic and Hungary, the USA and Estonia in ninth, while tenth place is occupied by Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates.
The latter mark a success story in global mobility because they have secured access to 72 new destinations since 2015, moving up 32 countries to consolidate themselves in the top ten. This passport is valid in 185 countries around the world.
China has also made progress, moving from 94th place in 2015 to 60th.
Only 22 of the world's 199 passports have declined over the past decade. Venezuela is the first, followed by the US, which fell from second place to ninth.
Henley & Partners' list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports by the access they grant to citizens.
Arton Capital's Passport Index considers passports from 193 United Nations member states and six territories: Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Kosovo, Palestine and the Vatican. Annexed territories are excluded from the ranking.