World's Top 10 Most and Least Powerful Passports for 2023

Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm has released the Henley Passport Index for the year 2023. The passport index ranks 199 passports from 227 destinations based on the travel freedom they offer for the year 2023.

Notably, it is the only index of its kind which uses exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA).

Henley Passport Index

The Henley Passport Index is a ranking of countries based on the travel freedom their citizens enjoy. The index is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains a database of passport regulations. The Henley Passport Index ranks countries based on the number of destinations their citizens can travel to visa-free or with visa-on-arrival.

World’s Top 10 Best (Most Powerful) Passports for 2023

As per the latest Henley Passport Index report, for the 6th consultive year Japan topped the index with Japanese citizens can visit 193 destinations around the world without a visa. South Korea and Singapore tied for second place, with their citizens having visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 192 destinations.

Japan Henley Passport Index Ranking of 2023

Germany and Spain tied for third, with visa-free access to 190 destinations. The UK and the US hold 6th and 7th places, respectively, with scores of 187 and 186. It appears unlikely for either country to reclaim the top spot on the index, which they jointly held in 2014.

There are 30 countries in the top ten for the most powerful passports in the world for 2023; take a look below…

Rank	Countries	Visa-Free Access
1	Japan	193
2	Singapore, South Korea	192
3	Germany, Spain	190
4	Finland, Italy, Luxembourg	189
5	Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden	188
6	France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom	187
7	Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States	186
8	Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta	185
9	Hungary, Poland	184
10	Lithuania, Slovakia	183

World’s Most Powerful Passports in 2023

World’s Top 10 Worth (Least Powerful) Passports for 2023

As in previous years, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Yemen dominate the list of least powerful passports, with the least access to visa-free destinations.

Afghanistan has the fewest options, with only 27 destinations available to its citizens, and ranks 109th on the list. Countries such as Congo, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Sudan, on the other hand, rank 100th, with citizens having access to 42 visa-free destinations.

Rank	Countries	Visa-Free Access
100	Congo (Dem. Rep.), Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Sudan	42
101	Bangladesh, Kosovo, Libya	41
102	North Korea	40
103	Nepal, Palestinian Territory	38
104	Somalia	35
105	Yemen	34
106	Pakistan	32
107	Syria	30
108	Iraq	29
109	Afghanistan	27

Indian Passport Ranking In 2023

According to the Henley Passport Index, the ranking of Indian passports has slightly improved to 85th place this year, a two-spot jump from its 87th position in 2022. However, visa-free access for Indian citizens is still limited to only 59 countries.

Last year, Indian citizens had visa-free access to 60 destinations, but this year that number has dropped to 59 due to Serbia ending visa-free travel for Indian citizens starting from January 01, 2023. Notably, Serbia has cancelled the agreement that allowed Indians to enter visa-free for stays of up to 30 days.

Global Passport Ranking For 2023

The Henley Passport Index for 2023 ranks 199 countries according to the number of visa-free destinations available to their citizens. The list shows the country’s ranking as well as the number of visa-free destinations that are available to them.

It should be noted that the rankings of these countries are subject to change due to the countries’ relations and agreements.

Rank In 2023	Country	Visa-Free Access
1	Japan	193
2	Singapore	192
2	South Korea	192
3	Germany	190
3	Spain	190
4	Finland	189
4	Italy	189
4	Luxembourg	189
5	Austria	188
5	Denmark	188
5	Netherlands	188
5	Sweden	188
6	France	187
6	Ireland	187
6	Portugal	187
6	United Kingdom	187
7	Belgium	186
7	Czech Republic	186
7	New Zealand	186
7	Norway	186
7	Switzerland	186
7	United States	186
8	Australia	185
8	Canada	185
8	Greece	185
8	Malta	185
9	Hungary	184
9	Poland	184
10	Lithuania	183
10	Slovakia	183
11	Latvia	182
11	Slovenia	182
12	Estonia	181
13	Iceland	180
14	Malaysia	179
15	Liechtenstein	178
15	United Arab Emirates	178
16	Cyprus	177
17	Romania	175
18	Bulgaria	174
18	Chile	174
18	Croatia	174
18	Monaco	174
19	Hong Kong (SAR China)	171
20	Argentina	170
20	Brazil	170
21	San Marino	169
22	Andorra	168
23	Brunei	166
24	Barbados	163
25	Israel	159
25	Mexico	159
26	St. Kitts and Nevis	157
27	Bahamas	155
28	Vatican City	154
29	Seychelles	153
29	Uruguay	153
30	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	152
31	Antigua and Barbuda	151
31	Trinidad and Tobago	151
32	Costa Rica	150
33	St. Lucia	147
34	Grenada	146
34	Mauritius	146
35	Dominica	145
35	Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)	145
36	Macao (SAR China)	144
36	Panama	144
36	Ukraine	144
37	Paraguay	142
38	Peru	136
38	Serbia	136
39	Colombia	133
39	Guatemala	133
39	Honduras	133
40	El Salvador	132
40	Samoa	132
40	Solomon Islands	132
41	Tonga	130
42	Venezuela	129
43	Nicaragua	128
43	Tuvalu	128
44	North Macedonia	125
45	Kiribati	124
45	Montenegro	124
46	Marshall Islands	123
47	Moldova	121
48	Palau Islands	120
49	Bosnia and Herzegovina	118
49	Micronesia	118
49	Russian Federation	118
50	Georgia	116
51	Albania	115
52	Türkiye	110
53	South Africa	106
54	Belize	103
55	Qatar	100
56	Vanuatu	98
57	Kuwait	97
58	Timor-Leste	94
59	Ecuador	92
60	Nauru	90
61	Maldives	89
62	Fiji	88
62	Guyana	88
63	Bahrain	87
63	Botswana	87
63	Jamaica	87
64	Papua New Guinea	83
65	Oman	82
65	Saudi Arabia	82
66	Bolivia	80
66	China	80
67	Namibia	79
68	Belarus	78
68	Thailand	78
69	Lesotho	77
70	Kazakhstan	76
70	Suriname	76
71	eSwatini	75
72	Malawi	74
73	Kenya	73
74	Tanzania	72
75	Indonesia	71
75	Zambia	71
76	Azerbaijan	70
76	Dominican Republic	70
76	Tunisia	70
77	The Gambia	69
78	Philippines	67
78	Uganda	67
79	Armenia	66
79	Cape Verde Islands	66
79	Zimbabwe	66
80	Cuba	65
80	Ghana	65
80	Morocco	65
81	Kyrgyzstan	64
81	Sierra Leone	64
82	Mongolia	62
82	Mozambique	62
83	Benin	61
83	Rwanda	61
84	Sao Tome and Principe	60
84	Tajikistan	60
85	India	59
85	Mauritania	59
85	Uzbekistan	59
86	Burkina Faso	58
87	Cote d’Ivoire	57
87	Gabon	57
87	Senegal	57
88	Equatorial Guinea	55
88	Guinea	55
88	Madagascar	55
88	Togo	55
88	Vietnam	55
89	Cambodia	54
89	Mali	54
90	Algeria	53
90	Bhutan	53
90	Chad	53
90	Comoro Islands	53
90	Egypt	53
90	Jordan	53
90	Niger	53
90	Turkmenistan	53
91	Central African Republic	52
91	Guinea-Bissau	52
92	Angola	51
92	Cameroon	51
93	Burundi	50
93	Laos	50
94	Congo (Rep.)	49
94	Haiti	49
94	Liberia	49
95	Djibouti	48
96	Myanmar	47
97	Ethiopia	46
97	Nigeria	46
98	Eritrea	44
98	South Sudan	44
99	Iran	43
100	Congo (Dem. Rep.)	42
100	Lebanon	42
100	Sri Lanka	42
100	Sudan	42
101	Bangladesh	41
101	Kosovo	41
101	Libya	41
102	North Korea	40
103	Nepal	38
103	Palestinian Territory	38
104	Somalia	35
105	Yemen	34
106	Pakistan	32
107	Syria	30
108	Iraq	29
109	Afghanistan	27