The country has trumped five other countries to become the only one in the top spot in a world ranking of passports, with Singaporeans now having visa-free entry to 195 out of 227 travel destinations.
According to the latest data published by the Henley Passport Index on July 23, the five countries – France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain – have dropped to second place, with visa-free entry to 192 destinations.
These countries and Singapore previously shared the top spot with visa-free entry to 194 out of 227 travel destinations, according to rankings published by Henley in January 2024.
In the latest rankings, an “unprecedented seven-nation cohort” takes the third spot with access to 191 destinations without a visa. The countries are Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea and Sweden.
Former passport powerhouses Britain and the United States have slid down the list since 2014, when they shared the joint top spot on the index.
Britain is fourth with 190 destinations, sharing the spot with Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland. The US is eighth, with visa-free entry to 186 destinations.
Afghanistan retains its world’s weakest passport spot, at access to 26 countries visa-free.
The general trend over the past two decades has been towards greater travel freedom, said Dr Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley and Partners, and creator of the passport index concept.
The global average number of destinations accessible visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.
“However, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now wider than it has ever been, with top-ranked Singapore able to access ... 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan,” said Kaelin. — The Straits Times/ANN
