We look at what makes the Singapore passport one of the best for travellers—and why Japan has taken the top spot in 2022
As we take our pick of countries to travel to during the summer, it can be easy to overlook the convenience that our Singaporean passports afford us. The Henley Passport Index reminds us of that privilege with its 2022 ranking of the world’s most powerful passports, for which it has named Singapore as second best, right after Japan.
Singapore has fallen from its top spot last year, which it had shared with Japan. This year, Singapore’s runner-up ranking is tied with South Korea instead. The three leading Asian countries are followed by Germany and Spain in the third spot. The top 12 countries on the list are as follows:
Japan (#1)
Singapore (#2)
South Korea (#2)
Germany (#3)
Spain (#3)
Finland (#4)
Italy (#4)
Luxembourg (#4)
Austria (#5)
Denmark (#5)
Netherlands (#5)
Sweden (#5)
What makes the Singapore passport so powerful?
To determine its annual annual Global Passport Ranking list, the Henley Passport Index looks at 17 years of data on travel documents around the world.
The most important factor that it considers is the number of countries that a passport grants access to. For every country that a passport allows its holder to enter without requiring a visa, or simply by obtaining a visa on arrival instead of getting pre-departure approval, it scores a point.
At the second spot, Singapore’s travel document currently allows visa-free and visa-on-arrival travel to 192 of the 195 countries in the world. Not too shabby. Japan, meanwhile, was moved up a spot because it now provides hassle-free travel to 193 countries, allowing its citizens to see almost all of the world if they are so inclined.
Admittedly, the difference doesn’t matter much. Both passports grant its holders plenty of travel freedom, especially when compared to the that of the United States (ranked seventh, with access to 186 countries) and other Asian passports like Malaysia (13th, 179 countries), Hong Kong (18th, 171 countries) and China (69th, 80 countries).
Read more: Destinations Less Than 5 Hours’ Flight from Singapore for a Weekend Trip
