U.S. Passport drops to Number 8 World’s Most Powerful Passport Index

The Henley Passport Index ranks passports from across the world based on how many destinations their holders can visit without a prior visa. The United States is currently ranked eighth on the index, continuing its ten-year decline. The United States moved up to No. 7 in January 2024 from No. 8 the previous year. Ten years prior, in 2014, the United States and the United Kingdom shared the top spot.
There are currently 186 countries where a U.S. passport holder can go without a visa. In contrast, holders of the No. 1 passport in the ranking, Singaporeans, are granted visa-free access to 195 out of 227 worldwide travel locations.

France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain, all of whom have visa-free travel, are tied for second place wIth visa-free access to 192 destinations.

Based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a cohort of seven countries, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden, each having access to 191 destinations without requiring a prior visa, now hold third place on the ranking. With a visa-free destination score of 190, the United Kingdom maintains its fourth-place ranking alongside Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland.

The United States permits only 45 other nationalities to enter its borders without a visa, placing it far lower on the Henley Openness Index at 78th place (compared to 8th place on the Henley Passport Index) despite the fact that holders of American passports are granted visa-free travel to 186 out of 227 locations. That disparity is the second largest in the world, barely surpassing Canada and trailing Australia.