The latest Henley Passport Index, released by Henley & Partners, has once again crowned Singapore the nation with the most powerful passport in the world for 2024. India holds a modest locus at the 82nd spot.
India’s passport ranks 82nd alongside Senegal and Tajikistan, offering visa-free access to 58 countries. This position illustrates India’s middle-tier global mobility, reflecting both the opportunities and limitations faced by Indian travellers.
Singaporean passport holders enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to an impressive 195 destinations. This achievement underscores the city-state’s consistently high ranking in global mobility, maintaining its top position from previous years.
This year’s rankings reveal significant mobility shifts, with European and Asian countries dominating the top spots. This places Singapore ahead of other leading nations, including Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Japan, providing visa-free access to 192 destinations.
The United States, once among the top five, has now slipped to the eighth position, granting visa-free access to 186 countries. This decline highlights the shifting dynamics of global mobility and the increasing competition among countries to provide greater travel freedom to their citizens.
Following Singapore, the second place is shared by five countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain, each granting their citizens visa-free access to 192 destinations. These nations demonstrate the strong global mobility afforded to their citizens through robust diplomatic relationships and comprehensive visa agreements. Interestingly, several countries have shown notable changes in their rankings over the past decade. China has climbed essentially, moving up 24 places from 83rd to 59th since 2014, and Ukraine has progressed 23 places, presently positioning 30th.and Ukraine has advanced 23 places, now ranking 30th. Conversely, Russia has dropped from 38th to 45th place, reflecting changing geopolitical and travel conditions.
In a notable shift, the United States has dropped to eighth place, with its passport allowing visa-free travel to 186 countries. This decline reflects changing international dynamics and possibly stricter visa policies affecting US passport holders.
The Henley Passport Index evaluates 199 passports against 227 travel destinations, providing a comprehensive overview of global travel freedom. The index uses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and supplemental in-house research.
