Henley Passport Index 2026: In an increasingly interconnected world, a passport plays a decisive role in global mobility.

London-based the Henley Passport Index 2026, which ranks passports based on visa-free access to destinations, has ranked Singapore as the country with the ‘world’s most powerful passport’.

The residents of Singapore enjoy visa-free access to 192 destinations. Strengthening Asia’s dominance, Japan and South Korea follow next to Singapore — both tied for second place — enjoying visa-free access to 188 countries in 2026.

On the other hand, Afghanistan, which grants access to only 24 destinations without a prior visa, is placed at the bottom of the list.

The report highlighted a 168-destination gap, revealing the growing inequality in global mobility over the past two decades, with the difference between the highest-ranked passport in 2006, the US, and the lowest-ranked, Afghanistan, being only 118 destinations.

The top rankings are primarily led by European passports, with notable exceptions such as the UAE, which climbed 57 positions in the index over the last two decades to be placed at the fifth spot and has visa-free access to 184 destinations.

Australia, Canada, and Malaysia are featured among the top 10, with the US making a comeback this year at 10th, after briefly slipping for the first time in late 2025.

The Indian passport on the Henley Passport Index ranked relatively higher in the 2000s; however, it saw a steady decline in the subsequent years.

In 2026, it was ranked 80th globally, moving up five positions from last year.

Allowing visa–free access to 55 countries, this five-rank rise indicates a gradual recovery in India’s passport strength after several years of stagnation in the low-to-mid 80s.