The Passport That Opens More Borders Than Any Other
Singapore has retained the world’s strongest passport in the July 2026 Henley Passport Index, while European countries occupy most of the leading positions. The ranking measures how many destinations holders can enter without obtaining a visa before travel, using IATA Timatic data. Singapore remains first for a second year, with Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates sharing the next position.
Who Leads the 2026 Ranking
- Singapore: 192 destinations
- Japan, South Korea and the UAE: 188
- Sweden: 187
- Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain: 186
- Austria, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Switzerland: 185
The UAE is the ranking’s biggest long-term climber, rising 60 places over two decades and adding access to 153 destinations. Sweden is Europe’s highest entry in third place, while 29 European countries appear within the top 10. The UK has moved up to sixth after gaining visa-free access to China and Malawi, while the United States remains in tenth place.
People holding the highest-ranked passports face fewer advance visa applications, making short breaks, multi-country itineraries and stopovers easier to arrange at short notice. The score does not guarantee entry or remove limits on length of stay, work or study. Some destinations still require electronic authorisations, arrival forms or fees, so passport validity and current border rules should be checked before every trip.
Rankings can change whenever governments alter visa arrangements, so a high position is not a permanent travel entitlement. The July table shows how close the leaders now are: four destinations separate first and second place, and only seven separate first and fifth. One new visa agreement can therefore move several countries, while the actual journey still depends on the rules applied at each border.
