Bench pressing 250 pounds? Kissing your biceps and talking about the “gun show?” Sure, but you’re never going to be as powerful as a passport. While you may have never thought about a passport’s strength, it’s measured by the Henley Passport Index each year: Its power is in how many destinations the holder can enter without getting a visa in advance. Once upon a time, the U.S. passport was the most powerful one in the world—back in 2014—but today, those global muscles have weakened considerably.
On this year's ranking, the American passport has slipped to No. 10 worldwide, a drop from last year's ninth-place ranking. That tenth-place slot is due to the U.S. currently having visa-free access to 182 nations, out of a possible 227.
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The nation with the most powerful passport? It’s Singapore—Singaporeans can visit a whopping 193 destinations on their passport.
Tying for second place is Japan and Korea, which both allow their passport holders access to 190 nations without a prior visa. Third place is a tie between seven countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain, all with access to 189 destinations.
The fourth spot is also a tie between seven nations: Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden, all with access to 188 destinations.
After that, it’s New Zealand, Greece and Switzerland, traveling with their happy passports to 187 countries; the U.K. crossing the border to 186 countries; Australia, Czechia, Hungary, Malta and Poland accessing 185 nations; Canada, Estonia, United Arab Emirates going to 184; Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia going to 183; and that brings us to the U.S., tying for 10th place with Iceland and Lithuania.
At the other end of the spectrum is Afghanistan, whose passport only permits entrance to 25 destinations without a visa procured in advance.
We have to ask ourselves, how has the United States slipped so far down in just 10 years? The creator of the passport index, Dr. Christian Kaelin, says: “Access is earned—and must be maintained—through active and strategic diplomacy. 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.”
For the curious, countries we Americans can’t go to without a visa are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, Brazil, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ghana, Iran, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Nauru, Niger, North Korea, Russian Federation, South Sudan, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen, equaling 24.
As for countries Americans can’t go to without an e-visa, they are: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, India, Mauretania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Syria, Togo, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, equaling 20.