Did you know there’s a report that ranks passports by how useful they actually are for traveling to other countries? It’s called the Henley Passport Index, and for 20 years, it has tracked the number of destinations to which passport holders can travel visa-free. Singapore tops the list with visa-free access to 192 destinations, while Afghanistan remains last with just 24.
The U.S. passport is still strong, with access to 179 countries. But the United States allows just 46 nationalities to enter visa-free, ranking 78th globally for openness. That’s one of the widest gaps between outbound mobility and inbound access anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile, China has quietly moved in the opposite direction, adding visa-free access for more than 40 countries in the past two years and now allowing entry to 77 nationalities. Call it diplomacy, call it economics, or call it demand generation, but openness is increasingly being used as a competitive lever in global travel.
And while the U.S. has not reduced the number of Visa Waiver countries, as we’ve reported in previous issues, it has continued to layer on new requirements that make entry more onerous, even for travelers from Visa Waiver countries (see our December article).
Want to dive deeper? Check out the full 2026 Henley Global Mobility Report at Henley & Partners.
