India has registered an impressive boost in international mobility, advancing eight ranks to rank 77th in Henley Passport Index's mid-year 2025 update. It is the largest improvement by any nation in the past half year, having been ranked 85th before.
The Henley Passport Index, prepared by UK-based firm Henley & Partners, ranks passports on the basis of the destinations their holders may visit without a prior visa. This encompasses visa-free travel, visa-on-arrival, and electronic travel authorizations.
India's passport power now grants its citizens access to 59 nations without a pre-requisite visa. The current improvement comes by way of the addition of two more countries that have now allowed visa-on-arrival facilities to Indian travelers.
Some of the countries offering visa-free entry to Indian passport holders include Malaysia, Indonesia, the Maldives, and Thailand. At the same time, destinations like Sri Lanka, Macau, and Myanmar now provide visa-on-arrival facilities.
The rankings, which are based on exclusive IATA data, point to a bigger trend in global travel patterns. Asian countries—particularly India, China, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—are gradually closing the gap with long-established Western countries such as the US and the UK in terms of the strength of their passports.
Backing this trend, IATA reports show airlines within the Asia-Pacific region driven international air travel expansion between January and May 2025, a 9.5% growth. In contrast, North America saw flat growth across the same timeframe.
Singapore led the index once again, providing visa-free entry to 193 of 227 worldwide destinations. Japan and South Korea followed closely behind, with travel access to 190 countries.
France, Germany, Italy, and four other EU countries shared the third position. New Zealand tied with Greece and Switzerland in the fifth place.
The United States lost top 10 rankings for the first time. What was once a best-ranked passport now ranks 10th with visa access to 182 destinations. Another former chart topper, the UK, ranked sixth providing visa access to 186 destinations.
The United Arab Emirates has shown extraordinary progress over the past decade, climbing from 42nd to 8th place. It now enjoys one of the most powerful passports in the world, thanks to an aggressive diplomatic push to expand visa-free access.
China, too, has made major strides—moving up 34 spots over 10 years to rank 60th in 2025, fueled by a series of new visa waiver agreements.
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