The annual passport ranking published by Henley & Partners points to an erosion in the strength of the Israeli passport. Israel recorded a slight rise in the rankings, moving from 19th to 18th place amid growing congestion at the top of the index. However, this apparent improvement masks a real decline in mobility. The number of destinations Israeli citizens can enter without a visa fell to 165 from 170 last year.
Over the past year, Israel lost visa free access to six countries: Mauritania, the Maldives, Colombia, Somalia, Myanmar and Malawi. On the other hand, Bolivia granted visa free entry to Israeli citizens, placing Israel among a small group of countries that gained a new destination in the past year.
“Some of the changes are not unique to Israel,” said Daniel Schmelin, head of Henley & Partners’ Israeli office. “Mauritania, Somalia, Myanmar and Malawi shifted from visa free or visa on arrival policies to eVisa systems, a broad change that affected many passports worldwide.”
By contrast, the Maldives and Colombia removed visa exemptions specifically for Israeli citizens. At the same time, Israel canceled visa free entry for Colombian nationals.
Singapore first, Afghanistan last
Singapore once again tops the index as the world’s most powerful passport, offering visa free access to 192 destinations. At the opposite end of the scale, Afghanistan remains last, with its passport holders able to enter just 24 destinations without obtaining a visa in advance. The resulting gap of about 168 destinations highlights the scale of global inequality in mobility. This divide has widened sharply since 2006, when the difference between the leading passport at the time, the United States, and Afghanistan stood at 118 destinations. Japan and South Korea are tied for second place, with visa free access to 188 destinations each, reinforcing Asia’s long standing dominance at the top of global mobility rankings. Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland share third place with access to 186 destinations, ahead of a group of 10 European countries ranked fourth.
Europe continues to dominate the upper tier of the index, with notable exceptions including the United Arab Emirates in fifth place, New Zealand sixth, Australia seventh, Canada eighth and Malaysia ninth. The United States returned to the top 10 after briefly falling out for the first time in late 2025. However, this recovery conceals a long term decline for both the United States and the United Kingdom, which shared first place in 2014. Over the past year, the two countries recorded the steepest annual losses in visa free access, with the United States losing seven destinations and Britain eight. The United States experienced its third largest drop in ranking over the past two decades, after Venezuela and Vanuatu, falling six places from fourth to 10th. Britain ranks fourth in cumulative declines, slipping four places from third in 2006 to seventh in 2026.
The rise of the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates posted the strongest growth in the Henley Passport Index over the past 20 years. Since 2006, it has added 149 visa free destinations, climbed 57 places and reached fifth place with access to 184 destinations. This reflects sustained diplomatic engagement and liberalization of visa regimes.
Western Balkan and Eastern European countries also recorded significant gains over the past two decades. Albania led the group, climbing 36 places to 43rd. Ukraine rose 34 places to 30th, followed by Serbia up 30 places to 34th, North Macedonia up 27 places to 38th, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, which climbed 29 and 26 places respectively and now share 42nd place. Together, these advances highlight the impact of regional integration and closer ties with key partners. Bolivia is the only country in the index to experience an overall decline in visa free access over the past 20 years, losing five destinations and dropping 32 places to 61st in 2026.
Open borders, closed doors
While holders of U.S. passports can enter 179 destinations without a visa, the United States itself allows visa free entry to just 46 nationalities. It ranks 78th out of 199 countries and territories in Henley’s openness index. This gap between outward mobility and inward openness is among the widest in the world, second only to Australia and slightly ahead of Canada, New Zealand and Japan.
By contrast, China has rapidly expanded its openness, granting visa free access to more than 40 additional countries in the past two years alone. Now ranked 62nd, China allows entry to 77 nationalities, 31 more than the United States, signaling a strategic shift toward openness as a diplomatic and economic tool. “A clear shift is underway in the global balance of power, marked by China’s renewed openness and the United States’ retreat toward nationalism,” said Dr. Tim Klapper, a partner at Grant Thornton China. “As countries increasingly compete for influence through mobility, border openness is becoming a critical component of soft power.”