There are several ways to assess the value and power of a country’s passport. One measure is the number of countries a holder can access with that passport—no visa required. The Henley Passport Index (HPI)* is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom those who possess their ordinary (not diplomatic) passports enjoy.
The HPI ranks approximately 200 passports from around the world, based on the number of countries to which their holders can travel without a prior visa. The number of destinations that a passport can access represents its “visa-free score.”
Here are some notable—and surprising—points about the current list:
- The visa-free score dropped for all ranking categories. This means that even holders of the world’s most powerful passports now have fewer countries to visit without a visa.
- The United Arab Emirates has suddenly appeared in the Second Place category—remarkable considering it wasn’t even among the top 25 passports just four months ago.
- Sweden jumped from Fifth Place to Third Place, just since the beginning of this year.
- Malaysia, Poland and the United Kingdom moved up to place among the top 26 countries in the latest rankings.
Read on to learn which countries’ passports currently top the HPI.
Here are the 26 top-ranked passports
Read on to see which 26 passports top the HPI. (The visa-free score appears in parentheses next to each group heading.) Explore the links to our illustrated articles to learn more about specific passports.
First Place (192):
- Singapore
Second Place (187):
- Japan
- South Korea
- United Arab Emirates
The UAE New Generation Passport has been greatly modernized.
Third Place (186):
- Sweden
Fourth Place (185):
12 countries ranked in fourth place.
- Belgium
Comic strip heroes play inside Belgium’s passport - Denmark
- Finland
Learn about Finland’s updated ePassport - France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Spain
- Switzerland
Our exclusive infographic of Switzerland’s current passport design
Fifth Place (184)
Four countries tied for this ranking.
- Austria
Austria’s New Generation Passport has iconic images, cutting edge security - Greece
Have a look at the new generation passport being issued in Greece - Malta
Two of Malta’s passports are among the rarest in the world. - Portugal
Sixth Place (183):
It’s a five-way tie for sixth place.
- Hungary
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- Poland
- United Kingdom.
The UK passport integrates subtle design changes and King Charles’ Coat of Arms
Your country’s passport didn’t make the cut? See the full list
Visit the Henley and Partners website to see the current, complete list of HPI passport rankings. In ranking passports for their index, Henley and Partners rely on official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) global database. Learn about the methodology used to compile the Henley Passport Index.
*Henley Passport Index updated April 2026.
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