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The recent ranking shows the Canadian passport is down from seventh place since the last index update in January, losing visa-free access to four nations while seeing a much larger drop from Canada’s 2014 peak when it ranked second.Ìý

Although the Canadian passport has consistently ranked within the top 10 globally, in recent years, other countries are gaining visa-free access to destinations quicker than Canada, which is among five countries to have seen the largest plunge in rankings over the past decade.

Here’s how Canada’s passport ranks compared to other countries including the U.S.Ìý

Which countries have the most powerful passports?

Singapore’s passport has once again topped the list allowing citizens to enter 193 destinations out of a possible 227 without a prior visa. On the other end of the spectrum,ÌýAfghanistan remains at the bottom of the list, with its passport gaining visa-free access to just 25 countries— a massive mobility gap of 168 countries compared to Singapore.Ìý

Other Asian countries are also topping the list, with Japan and South Korea tied for second place, giving holders visa-free access to 190 countries.Ìý

Seven European nations take the third spot with visa-free access to 189 countries, includingÌýDenmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The fourth and fifth places are also largely dominated by other European countries, but New Zealand is the one outlier who shares fifth place with Europe’s Greece and Switzerland.Ìý

Since six months ago, India has seen the largest jump in ranking, shooting up from 85th place to 77th with citizens granted access to 59 visa-free destinations, but only gaining entrance to two additional countries. In the latest data, Saudi Arabian citizens can now travel to 91 countries after adding four destinations, making this the largest gain in visa-free access from all passports since the start of the year.Ìý

The UAE has jumped 34 places over the last decade from 42nd on the list to 8th, making history as the first Arab state to break into the upper tier, having secured access to 72 additional destinations since 2015.

How does Canada’s passport compare to the American passport?Ìý

The American passport has reached it’s weakest point since the Henley Passport Index was first recorded in 2005. The U.S. passport allows citizens entrance to 182 nations and ranked in 10th place, dropping one ranking since January and three places since last year.Ìý

Canada’s passport surpassed the U.S. passport for the first time in 2024 since data was first recorded by Henley, and that trend continues as the U.S. drops another rank from it’s previous 9th place earlier this year.

The drop in ranking comes as the Trump administration ramps up border controls and crackdowns on immigration.Ìý

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Why is the Canadian passport declining in power?Ìý

Of the 199 global passports recorded on the index, only 16 have fallen in the last decade. Behind Venezuela at the top of the list (15 places from 30th to 45th), the U.S. (decline by eight ranks), Vanuatu (decline in six ranks) and the U.K. down by five places—ÌýÌýCanada is among the biggest fallers (decline in four ranks).Ìý

The downward trend in rankings for nation passports that typically remained among the most powerful in the world, may be linked to an “increasingly multi-polar world,” according to the index, adding that as more countries develop their economies and rules around visas, “legacy powers like the U.K. and the U.S. appear to be retreating behind more restrictive entry policies.”Ìý

“The consolidation we’re seeing at the top underscores that access is earned — and must be maintained — through active and strategic diplomacy. Nations that proactively negotiate visa waivers and nurture reciprocal agreements continue to rise, while the opposite applies to those that are less engaged in such efforts,” said Christian H. Kaelin, the inventor of the passport index concept.Ìý

While Canada has dropped in ranking, this doesn’t mean the country is losing access to countries but rather it is not gaining visa-free access as quickly as other nations are.Ìý

With files from Estella Ren