U.S. Passport Falls to 12th Place After Years at the Top in Powerful Passports List

It isn’t as easy to travel with a U.S. passport as it used to be, according to a new report.

The U.S. passport is no longer among the top 10 most powerful passports, ranking at No. 12, per the Henley Passport Index.

This marks the first time the U.S. has fallen out of the top 10 in the 20 years that the Henley Passport Index has tracked passport strength. The information is analyzed by Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm that gathers exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.

The Henley Passport Index tracks how many destinations one passport can easily permit travelers to visit without a visa requirement. The index considers 199 passports and 227 destinations.

Now, Singapore boasts the world’s most powerful passport, offering visa-free access to 193 destinations. South Korea comes in second, with 190 destinations, and Japan in third with 189 destinations.

Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain and Italy are all tied for fourth place with access to 188 countries. Fifth place includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland and the Netherlands, with passport holders having access to 187 destinations. 

Greece, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Sweden (186) are all tied for sixth, while seventh includes Australia, Czech Republic, Malta and Poland (185).

Ranking 8th is Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom (184). Canada is the sole ninth-place holder, allowing access to 183 places, which comes right before Latvia and Liechtenstein, each of which has a total of 182. Iceland and Lithuania fall right behind with a total of 181.

The U.S. is tied with Malaysia at 12th place, with access to 180 destinations. Due to the repeated ties between multiple countries, the U.S. is actually outranked by 36 other countries. 

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The U.S.’s lower ranking comes 11 years after it held the No. 1 spot and then consistently remained in the top 10 until this year, per Henley & Partners. The U.S. isn’t the only country to see a rapid descent; the U.K. also held the No. 1 spot in 2015 and now sits at No. 8. 

While the two Western countries have fallen in the rankings, China has quickly ascended, rising from 94th place in 2015 to 64th in 2025. The UAE has seen a similar rise, climbing from No. 42 in 2015 to No. 8 in 2025.