The World’s Most Powerful Passports 2023

The world’s most powerful passports were just announced, and the United States didn’t make the top five. The rankings are compiled by Henley & Partners, a residence and citizenship planning firm based in London. The Henley Passport Index uses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to evaluate the number of destinations a country’s passport holders can visit without a prior visa. 

For the fifth year in a row, Japan placed number one as the most powerful passport. Japanese citizens can visit 193 destinations around the world without a visa. The United States hasn’t claimed the most powerful passport since 2014.

The Most Powerful Passports

1. Japan and Singapore: 193 destinations without a prior visa
2. South Korea: 192 destinations without a prior visa
3. Germany and Spain: 191 destinations without a prior visa
4. Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg: 190 destinations without a prior visa
5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden: 189 destinations without a prior visa
6. France, Ireland, Portugal, and the U.K.: 188 destinations without a prior visa
7. Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the U.S. : 187 destinations without a prior visa
8. Australia, Canada, Greece, and Malta: 186 destinations without a prior visa
9. Hungary and Poland: 185 destinations without a prior visa
10. Lithuania and Slovakia: 184 destinations without a prior visa

The Least Powerful Passports

Holding a non-powerful passport makes it quite difficult to travel freely. At the bottom of the list, the world’s least powerful passports are:

108. Afghanistan: 27 destinations without a prior visa
107. Iraq: 29 destinations without a prior visa
106. Syria: 30 destinations without a prior visa
105. Pakistan: 32 destinations without a prior visa
104. Yemen: 34 destinations without a prior visa