The strongest passports in 2024. Poland maintains high ranking position

The Henley Passport Index is the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the largest, most accurate travel information database – and enhanced by Henley & Partners’ research team.

According to the latest ranking for 2024, published on Tuesday (Jan. 9), citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain are happy holders of the strongest passports in the world, with access to visa-free travel to 194 countries. This has been the highest result in the history of the ranking so far.

Countries with second best passports are Finland, South Korea, and Sweden, with 193 visa-free destinations.

The third place in this year's index belongs to Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands - with 192 destinations.

The 4th place went to Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom - 191 countries.

The fifth best passports this year are those issued in Greece, Malta, and Switzerland - 190 visa-free destinations.

The Polish passport has once again been ranked among the strongest, as it maintained the 6th position gained last year. Citizens of Poland, along with those of Australia, the Czech Republic, and New Zealand can travel visa-free to 189 countries worldwide.

There is no shortage of changes in the ranking, compared to last year's edition. This year, European countries turned out to have the strongest passports, even though in 2023 Japan and Singapore were on the top of the list.

The United Arab Emirates noted the highest jump up the list of the last decade - from the 55th place in 2014 up to 11th this year, adding as many as 106 countries to its visa-free travel list to a total of 183.

Christian H. Kaelin, chair of Henley & Partners and creator of the passport index, said in a statement that while the general trend over the past two decades has been towards greater travel freedom, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now wider than ever.

"The average number of destinations travelers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024," Christian H. Kaelin, chair of Henley & Partners and creator of the passport index, said in a statement

"However, the top-ranked countries are now able to travel to a staggering 166 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan, which sits at the bottom of the ranking with access to just 28 countries without a visa," Kaelin noted.

With access to only 29 visa-free destinations, Syria is second-lowest in the ranking. Iraq has access to 31 destinations and Pakistan to 34.

With historical data spanning 19 years, the Henley Passport Index is the only one of its kind based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.

Updated quarterly, the Henley Passport Index is considered the standard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum.