- The average passport provides visa-free access to 108 destinations in 2026.
- Singapore retains top position with access to 192 destinations.
- The UAE has climbed to 2nd place with Japan and South Korea.
- Afghanistan has access to only 22 destinations, creating a 170-destination gap.
- Ireland joint sixth. Engl;and joint 22nd
Singapore holds the position as the world’s most powerful passport on the July 2026 Henley Passport Index, granting its citizens visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 192 destinations. Published by London-based advisory firm Henley & Partners, the index scores 199 global passports against 227 potential travel destinations using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
The world’s most powerful passports are held by citizens of Singapore (192 destinations) Japan, South Korea, UAE (188 each), Sweden (187 each), and Ireland among several European nations (186).
The UAE has climbed three places to join Japan and South Korea in 2nd place with access to 188 destinations.
The gap between the most and least mobile citizens has widened sharply, with Afghanistan at the bottom with access to only 22 destinations, creating a 170-destination global mobility gap. England has climbed one place to 6th after securing visa-free access to China and Malawi, while Canada has risen to 7th. The USA remains in 10th place.
New analysis comparing the Henley Passport Index and the Global Peace Index reveals a strong positive relationship between peacefulness and passport power. Countries whose passports significantly outperform their peace rankings include Israel, the USA, France, Ukraine, the UAE and South Korea. The USA sits in the bottom fifth of the GPI rankings.
Global Citizen Solutions recently published the Global Passport Index 2026 in which Ireland holds seventh position for the second year.
Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman at Henley & Partners, shared, “Twenty years of data show that passport power is one of the clearest expressions of a country’s geopolitical capital.”
