The Most Powerful Passports In The World in 2021

For some people, a passport is a portal to the world. For others, it is a barrier to the travel freedom they seek. Where do you lie on the spectrum of mobility?

The Henley Passport Index is the most rigorous and sophisticated measure of global access. It goes beyond a simple ranking of passports to provide you with an in-depth picture of your travel freedom, including which countries you can access with which type of visa, how your passport has changed over the last 14 years, how your passport compares to other passports, why your passport has the level of access it does, and which additional passports would improve your mobility.

The Henley Passport Index is the only passport index that is based on IATA data, enhanced by extensive in-house research, supported by expert commentary, and updated regularly throughout the year, making it the most robust, credible, and reliable index of its kind.

Japan’s passport occupying the number one spot for the fourth year running. Travelers with a Japanese passport have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 191 different destinations. A close second, Singapore’s passport grants access to 190 destinations, with joint third taken by South Korea and Europe’s first entry, Germany, with 189 accessible places each.

The remainder of the top ten is taken by European countries, with the first non-European or Asian nation being the USA at eighth spot alongside the UK.

Here’s the top ten rankings for the world’s most powerful passports in 2021:

#1 – Japan

#2 – Singapore

#3 – South Korea, Germany

#4 – Italy, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg

#5 – Denmark, Austria

#6 – Sweden, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland

#7 – Switzerland, USA, UK, Norway, Belgium, New Zealand

#8 – Greece, Malta, Czech Republic, Australia

#9 – Canada

#10 – Hungary