The Henley Passport Index has released its rankings for 2024. Singapore retains its position as the world’s most powerful passport, offering visa-free travel to 195 destinations.

The Henley Passport Index was co-developed by Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence consultancy.

According to the index, Singaporeans can travel visa-free to 195 destinations, maintaining its top position.

France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain follow in second place, with their citizens enjoying visa-free access to 192 destinations.

Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea and Sweden are in third place, and the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland are in fourth place.

Australia and Portugal rank fifth, with visa-free travel to 189 destinations.

The United States has dropped to eighth place, with 186 destinations that its citizens can visit without a visa. This is a significant drop in recent years.

On the other hand, Afghanistan is ranked as the weakest passport, and its citizens can travel to only 26 countries without a visa — the lowest score recorded in the index’s nearly two-decade history. Moreover, the passports of Pakistan and Yemen are ranked 100th.

The Henley Passport Index, which has been charting global freedom of travel for 19 years, uses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to rank 227 countries and territories.