The Henley Passport Index recently released the updated list of the world’s most travel-friendly passports for the year of 2025. The index, based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), evaluates how many destinations citizens can visit without obtaining a prior visa.
Demonstrating the ever-changing world of global mobility, both India and the United States of America (USA) have seen their passport rankings drop in the latest rankings. In fact, this marks the first time that the US passport was not featured in the top 10 in the index’s 20 year history.
The US now shares the 12th tier of passports with Malaysia; citizens of both countries can travel visa-free to 180 destinations. Meanwhile the India passport has slipped to 85th place in the 2025 Henley index compared to 80 in 2024. The Indian passport offers access to 57 visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations.
These declines specially in western countries like the US and the UK which also registered a significant ranking slip has been largely attributed to ‘openness gap in reciprocity’ by Henley & Partners. As per the official website, an openness gap in reciprocity refers to when rich countries tighten their travel rules and end up constraining the mobility of their own citizens because others respond in kind.
The Top 5 countries with the most powerful passports as per Henley & Partners have been listed as follows.
Singapore (Rank 1)
Unchanged from last year, Singapore continues to occupy the top spot in the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index. The World’s most powerful passport for a second consecutive year offers no-visa or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations.
South Korea (Rank 2)
South Korea comes in second with access to 190 destinations visa-free. The past few editions of the index represent a strong trend of Asian passports taking the lead in travel-freedom rankings amid shifting global mobility.
Japan (Rank 3)
Japan follows Korea closely in the rankings. One of the most consistent appearances in the top 10 rankings of the index, the Japanese passport ranks third in the 2025 edition and offers access to 189 countries.
Germany, Italy and other european countries (Rank 4)
A number of European passports including Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and others sit in the “fourth place” grouping, offering access to 188 destinations. European Union passports continue to provide exceptional global mobility, though they now step behind Asia’s lead.
5. Nordic belt (Rank 5)
Another cluster of countries which includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands share the 5th spot in the latest rankings. Passports affiliated with this whole cluster of Nordic and European countries offer access to 187 destinations.
India (Rank 85)
For India, however, the story is less upbeat. The Indian passport has fallen five places to 85th, down from 80th in 2024, now allowing visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to only 57 countries. The slip reflects a slower pace of new bilateral visa agreements compared to emerging peers in Asia and the Middle East.
The Henley Passport Index 2025 evaluates 199 passports across 227 destinations, ranking them based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The findings serve as a reminder of how deeply passport strength mirrors geopolitical influence, trade relations, and global connectivity and how India’s next leap in passport power will depend on its ability to turn diplomatic engagement into greater travel access.