The world's most powerful passports in 2024, ranked
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- The Henley Passport Index ranks the most powerful passports in the world for visa-free travel.
- Japan tied for No. 1, with access to 194 countries. The US passport can access 189 countries.
- Passports from 23 other countries provide more global access than a US passport.
Thinking of visiting China, India, or Venezuela this year with a US passport? Not so fast — or at least not before securing a visa. Some of the best wonders of the world require US citizens to obtain a visa before take-off, an inconvenience in planning that long-awaited international getaway.
US passport holders can access 189 countries globally without a visa, putting it in sixth place among world passports on the global mobility spectrum, according to the 2024 Henley Passport Index.
The index is an annual ranking of passports based on how many countries their holders can access without a visa and is based on data from the International Air Transport Authority.
For the seventh year in a row, Japan came in the top spot with its passport, which allows holders to travel to 194 countries without first securing a visa, though it's tied this year with five other countries. Finland, Sweden, South Korea, and the Netherlands tied for second, allowing access to 193 countries.
Passports from 23 other countries provide more global mobility than a US passport, seven more countries than 2023's ranking. The US shared its sixth place ranking with Canada, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
Below are the countries with the most powerful passports, ranked by ascending number of visa-free travel options, based on the 2024 Henley Passport Index.