Japan has been knocked from its perch and no longer has the world’s most powerful passport, according to the latest Henley index, which shows Australia has climbed the rankings.
After five years at the top, Japan was toppled by Singapore, where are able to visit 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free.
Germany, Italy, and Spain have all moved into second place with visa-free access to 190 destinations.
Japanese passport holders join those of six other nations – Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden – in third place, and the United Kingdom has turned a corner and moved to fourth place after a six-year decline.
Australia has climbed up the rankings from eighth to sixth, with
) without a visa, or where they’re able to obtain a visa, visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) upon arrival.
The United States has continued its decade-long slide down the index, dropping a further two places to eighth spot with access to 184 destinations visa-free.
The UK and the US jointly held first place on the index nearly 10 years ago in 2014 but have been on a downward trajectory ever since.