The U.S. is on the brink of exiting the top 10 in an annual ranking of the world’s most powerful passports for the first time in the index’s 20-year history.
American passports fell to a 10th place tie, jointly held by Iceland and Lithuania, in this year’s Henley Passport Index — which bases its rankings on how many destinations a passport’s holder can enter without a visa. The U.S. has fallen in the rankings every year since 2014, when its passports were ranked as the most powerful.
The U.S. has visa-free access to 182 destinations, whereas a passport from Singapore, which holds the top spot, grants the holder visa-free access to 193 destinations, according to the Index. In a Tuesday news release, Henley, a London-based global migration consultant group, noted that countries like the U.S. and U.K. “appear to be retreating behind more restrictive entry policies.”
“Your passport is no longer just a travel document — it’s a reflection of your country’s diplomatic influence and international relationships,” Henley & Partners CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen said in a news release.
American travelers can find out which countries require a visa by using the U.S. State Department’s Learn About Your Destination search tool.
The U.S. also ranks low on “openness,” only allowing 46 other nationalities to visit visa-free.
The State Department did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.
In second place on this year’s list are Japan and South Korea, with passports from those countries both granting holders visa-free access to 190 other countries. Most of the remaining top 10 slots, which include several tied rankings, are held by European countries, with the exception of the United Arab Emirates and Canada in a tie for eighth place and the U.S. in the 10 spot.
Afghanistan is ranked last. Its passport grants visa-free access to just 25 countries.
Henley says its index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, a major travel information database.
“The consolidation we’re seeing at the top underscores that access is earned – and must be maintained – through active and strategic diplomacy,” said Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, inventor of the passport-index concept, in a statement. “Nations that proactively negotiate visa waivers and nurture reciprocal agreements continue to rise, while the opposite applies to those that are less engaged in such efforts.”
