Australia climbs on list of world’s most powerful passports

Singapore has once again claimed pole position on the annual Henley Passport Index, with the nation’s passport dubbed ‘the world’s most powerful’ for the second year running.

In a welcome move, Australia has now entered the top five, up from last year’s sixth place on the newly-updated list. But what exactly makes a passport powerful?

Immigration consultancy Henley & Partners, which produces the quarterly Henley Passport Index, measures a passport’s might by how many countries an ordinary citizen can enter without needing to apply for a full visa with the government beforehand.

This includes situations where no visa is required or where travellers can easily obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit or some form of electronic travel authority in the case of visa-waiver programs such as the USA’s ESTA.

Singaporean passport holders can access an impressive 195 countries sans a full visa, narrowly besting France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain in equal second place at 192.

Australia now sits in equal fifth alongside Portugal, with entry to 189 countries. (The new visa waiver arrangement with China is partly behind Australia’s three point climb).

Here are the ratings for the coveted top ten spots on the world’s most powerful passports for 2024.

1. Singapore (195)

2. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain (192)

3. Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden (191)

4. Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom (190)

5. Australia, Portugal (189)

6. Greece, Poland (188)

7. Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta (187)

8. United States (186)

9. Estonia, Lithuania, United Arab Emirates (185)

10. Iceland, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia (184)

The United Arab Emirates saw the biggest climb year-on-year – jumping a remarkable 53 places in the ranking from 62nd to 9th place. It’s added an impressive 152 destinations since the index’s inception in 2006.

Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and inventor of the passport index concept, says “the general trend over the past two decades has been towards greater travel freedom, with the global average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free nearly doubling 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 a record-breaking 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan,” Kaelin adds.

The index, which uses 19 years of data, helps wealthy individuals and governments assess the value of citizenships around the world based on which passports offer the most prolific visa-free, or visa-on-arrival access.