6 countries have tied for the world's most powerful passport — and the US isn't one of them

• Consulting firm Henley & Partners released the 2024 ranking of the world's most powerful passports.
• Two Asian and four European countries were tied for having the world's most powerful passport.

Six countries now have the world's most powerful passport, according to the 2024 Henley Passport Index — but the US isn't one of them.

UK-based consulting firm Henley & Partners first published the index in 2006. Passports are ranked based on the number of destinations they can access without a visa or e-visa, relying on data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). The index includes 199 passports and considers the ease of access to 227 destinations.

Four countries in Europe and two in Asia were tied for having the most powerful passports — the first time in the index's history, according to a Henley & Partners press release.

For Asia, it was Singapore and Japan, both retaining the top spot from last year's index. France, Germany, Italy, and Spain — all part of the European Union — were added. All six have visa-free entry to 194 destinations.

The US ranked seventh — tying with Hungary and Canada — in this year's index, with visa-free entry to 188 destinations. Countries that require visas for US passport holders include China, Brazil, and Vietnam. Twenty-five countries ranked higher than the US on the index.

Over 67 million US citizens traveled overseas last year, according to data by the International Trade Administration. Some popular destinations Americans travel to — including Mexico, Canada, and Italy — are visa-free.

The strength of the US passport has declined in the past decade, peaking in 2006 and 2014 and ranking first on the index, data from the Henley Passport Index show. The US has ranked seventh since 2020 — the lowest it's been ranked in the index's history.

Afghanistan took last place on the index, with visa-free entry to 28 countries. Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, and Yemen are the bottom five countries, with 29, 31, 34, and 35 visa-free destinations, respectively.

These are the 10 most powerful passports for 2024, and how many countries they each grant visa-free access to:

1. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain
   194 destinations

2. Finland, South Korea, and Sweden
   193 destinations

3. Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands
   192 destinations

4. Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, and the UK
   191 destinations

5. Greece, Malta, and Switzerland
   190 destinations

6. Australia, Czech Republic, New Zealand, and Poland
   189 destinations

7. Canada, Hungary, and the US
   188 destinations

8. Estonia and Lithuania
   187 destinations

9. Latvia, Slovakia, and Slovenia
   186 destinations

10. Iceland
    185 destinations