For the first time since Henley & Partners launched the rankings in 2006, the United States has dropped out of the top 10 most powerful passports in the world. According to the company, American citizens can now travel visa-free to only 180 of 227 destinations, which has dropped their passport to 12th place, equal with Malaysia. For comparison, the US was in first place in 2014.
The H&P ranking in 2025 is led by Asian countries: Singapore with access to 193 destinations, South Korea (190), and Japan (189).
The company attributed the US decline to a series of recent changes in visa policy: the loss of visa-free travel with Brazil, the removal of China from the visa-free list, and decisions by Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Somalia, and Vietnam to restrict entry to Americans. These moves finally knocked the US passport out of the top ten.