Most powerful passports in 2026
Passport power rankings: how many countries each passport can enter visa-free.
In 2026 the United Arab Emirates passport tops the PassRank index with a score of 169 — the number of destinations its holders can enter without a visa in advance (visa-free, visa on arrival or eTA). It is followed closely by Singapore, Japan, South Korea and the major EU passports, which all clear 160. At the other end, Afghanistan sits last with a score of 22. PassRank covers all 199 passports and 199 destinations.
Source: Passport Index dataset. Data as of June 2026.
Top 20 most powerful passports
| Rank | Passport | PassRank score | Visa-free | On arrival | eTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | United Arab Emirates | 169 | 127 | 34 | 8 |
| #2 | Singapore | 163 | 129 | 26 | 8 |
| #2 | South Korea | 163 | 114 | 38 | 11 |
| #4 | Japan | 162 | 114 | 37 | 11 |
| #5 | Spain | 161 | 122 | 28 | 11 |
| #6 | Belgium | 160 | 123 | 26 | 11 |
| #6 | Denmark | 160 | 121 | 28 | 11 |
| #6 | Finland | 160 | 122 | 27 | 11 |
| #6 | France | 160 | 123 | 26 | 11 |
| #6 | Germany | 160 | 122 | 27 | 11 |
| #6 | Ireland | 160 | 118 | 32 | 10 |
| #6 | Italy | 160 | 122 | 27 | 11 |
| #6 | Luxembourg | 160 | 122 | 27 | 11 |
| #6 | Malaysia | 160 | 122 | 31 | 7 |
| #6 | Netherlands | 160 | 122 | 27 | 11 |
| #6 | Norway | 160 | 118 | 31 | 11 |
| #6 | Sweden | 160 | 122 | 27 | 11 |
| #6 | Switzerland | 160 | 120 | 29 | 11 |
| #19 | Austria | 159 | 119 | 29 | 11 |
| #19 | Croatia | 159 | 119 | 29 | 11 |
Source: Passport Index dataset (imorte/passport-index-data). Data as of June 2026.
PassRank score = visa-free + visa on arrival + eTA destinations. Snapshot 17 February 2026. See the full ranking of all 199 passports and the methodology.
Look up a passport
Pick a passport to see its score, world rank and the full list of destinations by access type:
1st · PassRank 169
Singapore2nd · PassRank 163
Germany6th · PassRank 160
United States41st · PassRank 153
United Kingdom36th · PassRank 156
Japan4th · PassRank 162
Canada39th · PassRank 155
Australia34th · PassRank 157
Browse all 114 passport profiles →
What you can look up on PassRank
- Passport profiles — a page for each major passport with its score, rank, and tables of visa-free, visa-on-arrival, eTA and visa-required destinations.
- Full ranking — all 199 passports ranked by PassRank score, plus regional rankings for Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East.
- Head-to-head compares — like US vs UK, India vs China and UAE vs Saudi Arabia: exactly where one passport can go that the other can't.
Strongest passports
- United Arab Emirates — 169
- Singapore — 163
- South Korea — 163
- Japan — 162
- Spain — 161
- Belgium — 160
Weakest passports
Guides
The strongest passports of 2026 by visa-free access, using the PassRank score. The UAE leads, with Singapore, Japan and the major EU passports close behind.
2026-06-15 How passport rankings are calculatedHow passport power indices work, what the PassRank score counts, and why different rankings disagree on the strongest passport.
2026-05-28 Best second passports for travel freedom in 2026Which second passports add the most visa-free travel access in 2026 — from the UAE and Singapore to high-ranking EU options, by PassRank score.
2026-05-10 Visa-free vs visa on arrival vs eTA: what's the difference?Visa-free, visa on arrival, eTA and e-visa explained — what each means for travellers and how they affect a passport's power score.
2026-04-30 Strongest passports by region in 2026The most powerful passport in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, Oceania and the Middle East in 2026, by PassRank visa-free score.
2026-03-22 Passport power vs tax: the nomad tradeoffWhy the strongest passport isn't always the best for a location-independent life — how visa-free travel, residency and tax pull in different directions.
2026-02-18Where the data comes from
PassRank is built on the open passport-index dataset (MIT licensed packaging; underlying data from passportindex.org), captured as a dated snapshot (17 February 2026). The PassRank score is our own transparent count — visa-free plus visa-on-arrival plus eTA destinations — documented on the methodology page. We are not affiliated with Passport Index or Henley & Partners, and our score may differ from commercial indices.
Last updated: 2026-06-21