The Country That Holds The World's Most Powerful Passport

You may be shocked to find that the world's two most powerful passports for travel are not in Europe, nor North America — they are in Asia. According to the Henley Passport Index, citizens of Singapore, a country that barely exists on some maps due to its tiny size, have the world's most powerful passport. Singaporeans can visit 195 countries visa-free or with an eTA or ESTA, being spoilt for choice between jetting off to Paris, relaxing in Hawaii, climbing the Great Wall, or scuba diving in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. With the rise in changes to the world economy and geopolitics in the past decade, dual citizenship and a second passport by investment have become sought-after safeguards. However, Singapore does not permit dual citizenship for adults.

In 2024, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain, Japan, and Italy all tied for the top spot. All of these countries remain in the top three with visa-free access to 192 countries. In the last decade, two of the biggest losers on the Henley Passport Index are Venezuela and the United States, which has slipped from first place in 2014 to ninth place in 2025. Currently, the United States sits below Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, but Americans still have visa-free access to these countries. The weakest passport worldwide is Afghanistan, with citizens having visa-free access to just 26 countries.

Even if you have one of the world's most powerful passports, changes are coming to travel this year. The U.K. recently began requiring visa-free visitors to apply for an ETA before arrival, and the rest of the European Union is following suit. These changes will affect Americans, Canadians, and other visitors who could previously apply to enter by showing their passports at immigration.

Over the past decade, Singapore's passport has become more powerful due to the country becoming an economic powerhouse. Since 2010, Singapore's passport ranking has climbed from 11th to 1st. Since gaining independence in 1965, Singapore has transformed into the fourth-richest country in the world by using its geography, political stability, and people to woo foreign investment. The tiny city-state totaling approximately 6 million residents is smaller than New York City in area but is big on attractions, making Singapore an excellent destination for first-time visitors to Asia or jumping-off point to other places in the region.

A majority of travelers visiting Singapore for the first time will arrive at Changi Airport, rated as the world's best by Skytrax for 12 years. Travelers to the region are going out of their way to book long layovers at Changi due to the incredible attractions, shopping, and even the late Anthony Bourdain's favorite airport food in the world. Outside of the airport, travelers visiting the island nation will be immersed in futuristic architecture, incorporated in well-maintained green spaces along with a mosaic of local cultural traditions in each of Singapore's unique and distinct neighborhoods. Singapore began to use architecture as a form of public art to attract tourists, starting with the Merlion Statue in 1972. Since then, Singapore has developed bigger tourist attractions including the Marina Bay Sands, one of the world's must-add buildings to your bucket list, Jewel Changi, and Gardens by the Bay.

Even though most Singaporeans are of Chinese, Malay, or Tamil heritage, English is widely used as the lingua franca for ethnic communication and is the official government language. Moreover, as Singapore has grown, the island nation has also improved its infrastructure, building a vast subway and bus network making transportation easy and efficient across the island for both locals and visitors.

In the last 10 years, Singapore is not the only country to have shot up the ranks; other smaller countries worldwide have shot up exponentially; Hungary has risen from 18th to 8th, South Korea has jumped from 13th to 3rd, and the United Arab Emirates has shot up spectacularly from 65th to 10th. As these countries are becoming more widely known, visit underrated cities, such as Budapest and the UAE's best off-the-radar destinations before they become crowded.

Smaller countries such as the UAE, Singapore, and Qatar have also changed perceptions worldwide one traveler at a time. These countries are home to some of the world's most luxurious airlines, which carry passengers across the globe in comfort well above cloud nine. These airlines represent the countries where they are based and may shape their customers' perceptions based on the airline's reputation and performance. Emirates Airlines, for example, has been a key part of the Emirate of Dubai's economic growth over the past twenty years, creating an opulent image of the UAE to flyers through its unparalleled first-class experience.

And, even though international tourism has nearly made a full recovery since the end of COVID, don't forget that geopolitics comes into play with international travel. In the last few years, Russia and China began to relax visa restrictions for many E.U. citizens to boost tourism, while normal visa restrictions have remained in place for Americans, Canadians, and Brits. Other countries, such as Georgia, Thailand, and Malaysia have rolled out the welcome mat to visitors from all over the world to earn a part of the $1.9 trillion in tourist spending.