World’s most powerful passports: 2026 ranking released

Asian countries dominate the top of the ranking. Singapore retained first place, offering its citizens visa-free access to 192 destinations. Japan and South Korea shared second place with access to 188 destinations each. Five European states Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland jointly ranked third, followed by a broad group of European countries in fourth place.

The United Arab Emirates stood out as the strongest long-term performer in the 20-year history of the index. The report notes that the UAE has added 149 destinations since 2006 and climbed 57 places, driven by “sustained diplomatic engagement and visa liberalization,” according to Henley & Partners.

By contrast, traditional Western powers continued to lose ground. The United Kingdom recorded the steepest year-on-year decline, while the United States returned to the top ten at No.10 but has lost visa-free access to seven destinations over the past year.

Kazakhstan ranked 61st in the Passport Index, with visa-free access to 78 destinations, but without visa-free entry to Europe’s Schengen Area.

“Passport power ultimately reflects political stability, diplomatic credibility, and the ability to shape international rules,” said Misha Glenny, journalist and rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, says in Henley & Partners’ report. He added that declining mobility for the U.S. and UK signals deeper geopolitical recalibration.

At the bottom of the index, Afghanistan remained last with access to just 24 destinations, underscoring what the creator of the Henley Passport Index Christian H. Kaelin described as ‘an increasingly uneven distribution of global mobility’.

The world’s most powerful passports for 2026:

1. Singapore (192)

2. Japan, South Korea (188)

3. Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (186)

4. Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway (185)

5. Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (184)

6. Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Malta, New Zealand, Poland (183)

7. Australia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom (182)

8. Canada, Iceland, Lithuania (181)

9. Malaysia (180)

10. United States (179)

Previously, Qazinform News Agency reported that in an earlier edition of the Henley & Partners Passport Index, the Kazakh passport ranked 67th based on visa-free access.