New Delhi: There was once a time when a United States passport was the height of power; now, though, it ranks at the 10th spot with access to only 180 countries.
Over 30 countries now rank higher on Henley and Partners’ Global Passport Ranking, revealing the US passport’s lowest ranking in a decade. The index compares 199 passports to 227 travel destinations and their visa-free access.
Its fall from grace as the most powerful passport in 2006 to its current ranking tied with Iceland shows how other countries have advocated and worked toward easier travel for their citizens while also fostering healthy diplomatic partnerships.
But for experts, the US passport’s downfall does not reflect a sudden collapse. US immigration attorney Richard T Herman told Newsweek that the passport is still one of the strongest.
“The direction is a warning: American power still opens doors. It simply no longer opens more doors than everyone else’s,” Herman said.
However, while the passport opens doors for many Americans, that same hospitality is often not reciprocated by the US. The Trump administration’s recent crackdown on immigration has only added to it. Herman said that although it does not explain the current rankings entirely, it does show “an increasingly transactional approach to international mobility.”
The evolution of global mobility
The 20th edition of the index also reflects how travel, diplomacy and geopolitical tensions have changed over the years.
“Twenty years of data show that passport power is one of the clearest expressions of a country’s geopolitical capital. It reflects far more than peace or prosperity alone. The world’s strongest passports belong to nations that other countries want as partners — for trade, investment, security, or cooperation. Mobility is ultimately a measure of the value other countries place on their relationship with you,” said Christian H Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners.
The global residence and citizenship planning firm’s index revealed that Singapore has emerged as the most powerful passport with visa-free access to 192 countries, followed by Japan with access to 188 countries.
The report further found that the United Arab Emirates has had the greatest improvement of any passport, adding 153 visa-free destinations over 20 years. It now ranks in the second position along with South Korea.
The index’s findings are based on Timatic data from the International Air Transport Association, which shows how the current global mobility reflects an increasingly complex and conflicted geopolitical landscape.
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How peace plays a part
Comparing the passport index with the Institute for Economics & Peace‘s Global Peace Index, Henley & Partners found that there is a strong link between peacefulness and passport power.
“Many of the world’s most peaceful countries also hold the world’s strongest passports. Singapore ranks eighth on the GPI and first on the HPI,” the report read.
That same pattern can be observed on the polar end of the index. Countries which are stricken with strife and conflict such as Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Bolivia, among others, also carry weaker passports, “illustrating the impact that conflict, instability, and state fragility have on international mobility.”