ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Pakistani passport has ranked the fourth worst globally for the fifth straight year, according to Henley Passport Index 2025, a ranking of the 199 passports worldwide based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
In the global ranking issued on October 7, Pakistan’s travel document was placed at 103 in the list — tied with Yemen — and ranked higher than only those of Iraq (104), Syria (105) and Afghanistan (106).
The ranking shows that Pakistan and Yemen’s passports permit visa-free access to 31 countries only out of 227 travel destinations, Iraq’s allows travel to 29, Syria’s gives access to 26 destinations, and Afghanistan’s travel document only affords the bearer access to 24 destinations without a visa.
Pakistan’s travel document has been declared the world’s fourth worst on the Henley index since at least 2021.
The index calculates countries’ “visa-free score” — the number of destinations travellers can access without a prior visa, or with a visa on arrival.
Pakistani passport placed 100th on the list in 2023 and 2024, 109th in 2022 when it allowed entry into 32 countries sans a prior visa, and 107th in 2021 with the same visa-free score.
Singapore passport ranks first
Singapore passport topped the list again, as it provides citizens visa-free access to 193 destinations, followed closely by South Korea with a visa-free score of 190, while Japan ranked third with 189 destinations its citizens can visit without a visa.
Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland rank fourth, with visa-free access to 188 locations.
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland and the Netherlands rank fifth with a visa-free score of 187.
Notably for the first time since the Henley Passport Index was introduced 20 years ago, the United States has fallen out of the world’s top 10 most powerful passports.
“Once unrivalled at No.1 in 2014, the American passport has now slumped to 12th place, tied with Malaysia, with visa-free access to only 180 of 227 destinations worldwide,” Henley said in a press release.
Similarly, the British passport slipped to its lowest-ever position on the index, dropping from sixth to eighth despite also once holding the top spot in 2015.
The United Arab Emirates’ passport, which entered the top 10 for the first time in 2024, upped one spot, moving to eighth with a visa-free score of 184.
China’s passport, which ranked 59th in 2024 with 85 destinations accessible without a visa, dropped to 64th with its visa-free score lowering to 82.
