Singapore has once again topped the Henley Passport Index, maintaining its position as the holder of the world’s most powerful passport despite a marginal decline in global travel access.
In the latest edition of the index released on July 22, Singaporean passport holders now enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 out of 227 destinations, two fewer than the 195 recorded in the January edition.
This slight decrease came after Pakistan and Mauritania altered their entry requirements from visa-on-arrival to e-visa systems, procedures that require pre-departure approval and are not counted as visa-free in the index.
Nevertheless, Singapore retains its lead, as other top-tier countries have faced similar restrictions.
Trailing Singapore are Japan and South Korea, tied in second place with access to 190 destinations.
In third place are seven European nations, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, each granting their citizens visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 189 destinations.
Former chart-toppers the United Kingdom and the United States, which held the number one spot in 2015 and 2014 respectively, have continued to slip down the rankings.
The UK now sits in sixth place with access to 186 destinations, while the US ranks 10th with 182.
According to Henley & Partners, the US is at risk of exiting the top 10 for the first time in the passport index’s two-decade history.
At the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan remains in the lowest position, 99th, with visa-free access to only 25 destinations. Syria follows in 98th place with 27, and Iraq ranks 97th with 30 destinations.
The Henley Passport Index, compiled by global citizenship consultancy Henley & Partners, draws data from the International Air Transport Association and is published biannually.
It ranks passports based on how freely their holders can travel without requiring a visa beforehand.
