It's official: These three Asian countries have the most powerful passports in the world

The latest Henley Passport Index is out, and Asia dominates. This year, Singapore's passport holds on to its crown as the sole most powerful in the world, after sharing top honours with five other countries last year. Hot on its heels: Japan and South Korea in joint second position.

For the uninitiated, the Henley Passport Index is likely the world's most authoritative ranking of passports based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a prior visa. Backed by Henley & Partners, it uses exclusive Timatic data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). 

In 2025, Singapore passport holders can enter a whopping 193 destinations without the hassle of applying for a visa, while Japan and South Korean passport holders can enter 190 destinations. Clearly, life's a breeze for travellers from these countries. 

The rest of the top ten is dominated by European countries, with their streak broken by Malaysia at No. 13, with visa-free access to 181 destinations. It's followed by Hong Kong at No. 17 with visa-free access to 169 destinations, and Brunei at No. 19 with visa-free access to 164 destinations – rounding out Asia's top five.

Although India did not break into Asia's top 10 list of most powerful passports, the report recognises it for recording the largest jump in ranking over the past eight months. It leapt eight places from No. 85 to No. 77 with the addition of two destinations to its visa-free list. 

Of course, visa-free access goes both ways, and it's China's increasing openness that has been a significant driver of the passport power shifts we're seeing. The country has "granted visa-free access to over a dozen new passports since January", allowing 75 nationalities to cross over without a visa today (as compared to fewer than 20 nationalities just five years ago).  

With China's increasing openness and the powerful passports in the region – all that means is that Asia-Pacific travel is really going strong. As IATA notes, "Asia-Pacific airlines led the way (in overall demand for air travel) with 9.5% growth". 

2025 Henley Passport Index: Asia's top 10 

1. Singapore, 193 destinations
2. Japan, 190 destinations
= South Korea, 190 destinations
3. Malaysia, 181 destinations
4. Hong Kong, 169 destinations
5. Brunei, 164 destinations
6. Macao, 144 destinations
7. Taiwan, 139 destinations
8. Timor-Leste, 96 destinations
9. China, 83 destinations
10. Thailand, 81 destinations 

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