The Japanese passport tops the Henley Index in 2021 (photo: Getty Images)
Cover Find out which passport tops the Henley Index for 2022 (Photo: Pixabay.com)

In the latest most powerful passports world-ranking for 2022, Asia continues to take the top honours

This article was originally published on January 5, 2021 and was updated on January 12, 2022.


The Henley Index—an annual ranking of the world’s passports by international access such as the ability to enter foreign countries without a visa—has updated its rankings for 2022. While Asia takes the honours in the top three positions, Europe still continues to dominate the top 10.

For the fourth time in a row, Japan’s passport still continues to top the Henley Index, allowing holders of Japanese passports to enter 192 foreign countries visa-free or visa-on-arrival. This time, Singapore ties with Japan for the first place after ranking second previously.

Other countries in Asia remain in the top three with South Korea’s passport pacing at number three together with Germany’s passport. The United States and United Kingdom’s passports have improved in their rankings, with both placing sixth this time and allowing visa-free access to 186 countries. Meanwhile, Hong Kong improves one spot in ranking, placing 18th.

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The  top 10 rankings are as follows:

  1. Japan and Singapore—192
  2. Germany and South Korea—190
  3. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain—189
  4. Austria, Denmark, France, Sweden and the Netherlands—188
  5. Ireland and Portugal—187
  6. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States—186
  7. Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece and Malta—185
  8. Hungary and Poland—183
  9. Lithuania and Slovakia—182
  10. Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia—181

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