Australia has maintained its position among the world's top 10 most powerful passports, according to the latest Henley Passport Index. The index ranks travel documents based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa.
Australia retained its seventh-place ranking, tied with Latvia, Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom, offering visa-free access to 182 countries. Singapore again topped the list as the world's most powerful passport.
Japan and South Korea shared second place, followed by Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland in third. New Zealand ranked sixth, just ahead of Australia.
The gap between the strongest and weakest passports has widened over the past two decades, now at 168 destinations, up from 118 in 2006. Afghanistan ranked last, with access to only 24 countries without a visa.
The United States rebounded into the top ten after briefly dropping out in late 2025, but recorded the second-largest annual decline after the UK, losing visa-free access to seven destinations. The UK lost access to eight destinations over the past year.
Since 2006, the United Arab Emirates has been the strongest performer globally, adding 149 visa-free destinations and climbing to fifth place. Several Western Balkan and Eastern European countries also made significant gains.
