Asian Nations Dominate Passport Power Ranking as US and UK Continue to Decline
A strong European contingent occupies the rest of the Top 5. Seven EU passports share 3 rd place — Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, all with access to 189 destinations. Another seven-nation European cohort, with visa-free entry to 188 destinations, are joint 4 th — Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden — while New Zealand, the only nation to challenge the regional dominance, ties in 5 th place with Greece and Switzerland.
At the other end of the global mobility spectrum, Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the ranking, with its citizens able to access just 25 destinations without a prior visa — a staggering mobility gap of 168 destinations between the top- and bottom-ranked passports.
Biggest risers and fallers
The UK and US have each dropped a place in the global passport rankings since January, continuing a long-term downward trend. Once the most powerful passports in the world — the UK in 2015 and the US in 2014 — they now rank 6 th and 10 th, respectively. The UK currently has visa-free access to 186 destinations, while the US trails with 182. Notably, the US is now on the brink of exiting the Top 10 altogether for the first time in the index's 20-year history.
Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, the inventor of the passport index concept, says "traditional mobility champions are losing ground in an increasingly multi-polar world. As emerging economies liberalize their visa regimes and invest in diplomatic capital, legacy powers like the UK and the US appear to be retreating behind more restrictive entry policies."
The UAE continues to be a standout among the top risers, shooting up 34 places over the last 10 years from 42 nd to 8 th place. Another notable winner is China, also rising 34 places from 94 th to 60 th since 2015 — particularly impressive considering that, unlike other top risers, China has not yet gained visa-free access to Europe's Schengen Area.
The Asia-Pacific region is also a leading driver of global travel. IATA's Director General, Willie Walsh, says overall demand for air travel showed strong 5.8% growth over the first five months of 2025, with some regional variations. "Asia-Pacific airlines led the way with 9.5% growth. In North America, international traffic grew by 1.8%, but this was offset by a 1% contraction in the domestic market, leaving demand effectively flat over the period."
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