St. John's 
Henley & Partners has released its latest Henley Passport Index, ranking the world’s passports by the number of destinations their holders can access without a visa.
Credit: Govt. of Canada
Canada has dropped two spots in the latest index, moving from seventh place earlier this year, when Canadians could travel visa-free to 188 destinations, to ninth place, with access now reduced to 183 destinations. Despite the decline, Canada remains among the world’s top 10 most powerful passports, maintaining strong global mobility compared to many peers.
The United States, however, has fallen out of the top 10 for the first time since the index was created two decades ago. Once ranked first in 2014, the American passport now sits at 12th place, tied with Malaysia, providing visa-free entry to 180 of 227 destinations.
The 2025 rankings show Singapore leading the world with access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea (190) and Japan (189). European countries dominate much of the upper tier, with Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland sharing fourth place at 188 destinations.
The U.S. decline has been linked to the loss of visa-free entry to Brazil, exclusion from China’s expanding list of visa-free partners, and changes by countries such as Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Somalia, and Vietnam.
As per the Index, Canadians need a physical visa to travel to Afghanistan, Algeria, Brazil, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Eritrea, Ghana, Iran, Libya, Mali, Nauru, Niger, North Korea, Russian Federation, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen.
We also require an electronic visa for travel to Azerbaijan, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo (Dem. Rep.),Congo (Rep.),Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, India, Liberia, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam.
The report highlights growing differences in visa openness. Canada ranks 76th on the Henley Openness Index, allowing visa-free entry to 53 nationalities, slightly ahead of the U.S. at 77th (46 nationalities). Both nations show one of the widest gaps between the travel freedom they enjoy and the openness they offer others.
According to Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, these shifts underline a global realignment in mobility and influence. Analysts say the U.S. decline is tied to restrictive visa policies and reduced reciprocity, while countries like China, which has climbed from 94th to 64th place in a decade, continue to expand their travel access through new bilateral agreements.
Henley Passport Index
Most Powerful (visa-free score – 193)
- Singapore
2nd Most Powerful (visa-free score – 190)
- South Korea
3rd Most Powerful (visa-free score – 189)
- Japan
4th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 188)
- Germany
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Spain
- Switzerland
5th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 187)
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Ireland
- Netherlands
6th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 186)
- Greece
- Hungary
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Portugal
- Sweden
7th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 185)
- Australia
- Czechia
- Malta
- Poland
8th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 184)
- Croatia
- Estonia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
9th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 183)
- Canada
10th Most Powerful (visa-free score – 182)
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
At the bottom of the list are Afghanistan (24 countries), Syria (26), Iraq (29), Pakistan (32) and Yemen (31).
The index takes official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and “is enhanced by extensive, ongoing research by the Henley & Partners Research Department.”
Per the news release, the Henley Passport Index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations.
A detailed list of all the countries is given here.
