We reported earlier this year that Singapore had the most powerful passport in the world, sharing the top spot with five other countries. Now, no more sharing – in the latest Henley Passport Index, we edged out the rest and emerged top of the pack with visa-free access to a record 195 travel destinations out of 227.
In January 2024, Singapore's passport provided visa-free access to 194 destinations out of 227 worldwide. This put us in the top spot of the Henley Passport Index, sharing the place with Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. In the latest report, Singapore clawed ahead with the addition of one more visa-free destination, bringing the total to 195. Meanwhile, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain dropped to joint second place with visa-free access to 192 travel destinations each.
Singapore also ranks highly on the Henley Openness Index, which ranks 199 countries worldwide according to the number of nationalities it welcomes in without a prior visa. We rank 15th on the openness index, allowing visa-free access to 164 nationalities out of 199. This is not surprising given Singapore's openness to tourism and foreign labour to support a small domestic economy, but stands in stark contrast to other powerful passport-holding nations like France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, which are themselves open to just 93 nationalities.
All this to say that Singapore is incredibly open, a boon especially for business owners and global investors who need the travel freedom to tap international markets. Meanwhile, us people on the street will just enjoy getting to visit 195 destinations worldwide visa-free and hassle-free.
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