The Most Powerful Passports in the World

by John Webber

It’s not just the color of the outside or the number of pages inside, as each country negotiates with others, some passports become more powerful. Whether citizens are able to flash their passport and breeze past customs or if it’s easy to get a visa upon arrival, every single country’s passport has its own unique set of regulations.

Passport Index, which ranks the world’s passports each year to identify which are the most powerful, released their most recent rankings in January. Several countries tie each other in the global access they provide their passport holders, so to get into the Top 25, a country must rank at least as the sixth most powerful.

Here are the 25 Most Powerful Passports in the World:

6. Australia – Australians can use their passport to get into 169 countries without a visa, making it a three-way tie for sixth most powerful in the world.
6. South Korea
6. Greece

5. New Zealand
5. Canada
5. Ireland
5. Malaysia

4. Japan – The Japanese passport will get its citizens into 173 countries around the world without a visa.
4. Portugal – The Portuguese can visit 172 countries around the world without a visa, garnering them the title of fourth most powerful passport.
4. Luxembourg
4. Austria
4. Belgium – Belgian citizens can flash their passports at 174 countries and get visa-free access.
4. Netherlands – The Dutch can get into 174 countries without a visa.
4. Italy

3. United States – What may seem surprising to many Americans is that their passport is only the third most powerful in the world – and it’s tied with seven other countries for that place.
3. United Kingdom – In 2015, the U.K. had one of the most powerful passports in the world. It has since dropped to a tied third place when other countries began relaxing their visa requirements.
3. Norway
3. Switzerland – Switzerland gives its citizens the third most powerful passport in the world.
3. Spain
3. France – French citizens can go to 175 countries around the world without a visa with their third place most powerful passport.
3. Finland – Finland’s passport tied with seven other countries as the third most powerful in the world.
3. Denmark

2. Sweden – Sweden is a close-behind second. The Swedish passport gets citizens into 176 countries around the world without a visa.
2. Singapore – Singapore residents can claim their title as owners of the second most powerful passport in the world.

1. Germany – German citizens are owners of the most powerful passport in the world. Germans can visit 177 countries around the world without needing a visa.

The Germans have had the most powerful passport in the world since 2014.

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