The world’s most powerful passports, ranked 2025

Big changes have occurred in the 2025 ranking of the most powerful passports in the world. Compared to last year, there’s no balance in first place (six nations tied for first place in 2024), but rather a genuine dominance. And we’re not talking about European powers.

The term "most powerful passports in the world" refers to those travel documents that offer their holders the ability to travel to the greatest number of destinations without the need for a visa.

The benchmark index is called the Henley Passport Index and is published quarterly by consulting firm Henley & Partners, which uses exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for its ranking.

The index’s objective is clear: to measure global travel freedom and show how international mobility changes over time, influenced by geopolitical, economic, and diplomatic factors. In recent years, the opening or closing of new routes, visa waiver agreements, and tensions between states have contributed to redrawing the map of global mobility.

Let’s find out which are the world’s strongest passports in 2025.

The World’s Most Powerful Passports in 2025: Here Are the Winners

The 2025 update of the ranking of the world’s most powerful passports brings with it a major update: while in 2024, six countries ranked first (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain), this year the overall winner is Singapore, with a whopping 193 destinations worldwide (out of 227 available).

For the past five years, Asian countries—specifically Japan and Singapore—have dominated first place. And it’s no coincidence that, after the "European" interlude in 2024, this year marks a return to tradition. In fact, second place is occupied by South Korea (with 190 destinations) and third by Japan (with 189 destinations), for an entirely Asian podium.

But Italy, in any case, is not far behind. This country, in fact, is in fourth place with a large group of European nations, such as Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland with 188 destinations.

The United States, on the other hand, has plummeted from seventh to twelfth place, losing, most importantly, eight entries (from 188 in 2024 to 180 in 2025).

The 2025 ranking of the most powerful passports

Here is the complete ranking up to the fiftieth position.

How the Index is Calculated

Although there are several indices that calculate a passport’s travel power, the Henley Passport Index is among the most well-known and widely used.

The index, as mentioned, examines 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, offering a comprehensive picture of global freedom of movement. It’s no coincidence that the Henley Passport Index is now considered the official compass for citizens, governments, and analysts who want to understand how much a passport "opens doors to the world."

Therefore, two scenarios are considered for assigning a score:

• no visa (or a residence permit, or an electronic travel authorization system) is required, or one is obtained upon arrival at the destination: the passport is assigned 1 point;
• a visa (or equivalent document) is required, which must be obtained and approved by the government before departure: the passport is assigned 0 points.

The overall score indicating the passport’s travel power is given by the sum of the number of countries that can be visited without requiring a visa.

Original article published on Money.it Italy. Original title: Passaporti più potenti al mondo, classifica 2025. Dov’è l’Italia?