Unggungli AS Dan Negara Eropa, Passport Singapura Jadi Yang Terkuat Di Dunia Tahun 2025

Passport illustration. (Twitter/@EU_Commission)

JAKARTA - Singapore cheered again, after the country's passports returned to the top of the world's most powerful passport quarterly ranking.

The ranking, which has entered its 20th year, was created by London-centric global citizenship and residential advisory firm Henley & Partners. It tracks global freedom in 227 countries and territories around the world, using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Singapore's red passports enjoy visa-free access to 195 from 227 destinations worldwide, according to Henley Passport Index, more than citizens anywhere else in the world, reported by CNN Jan. 10.

Japan is in second place with 193 destinations, regaining visa-free access to neighboring China for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown.

European Union member countries France, Germany, Italy and Spain are in No. 3, along with Finland and South Korea, with access to 192 destinations without the need for visas.

The fourth position this time proves that the strength of the European Union-free Schengen region guarantees free movement for more than 425 million EU citizens, where there are Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, each with visa-free access to 191 destinations.

In the next position, there are Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, all of which have visa-free access to 190 destinations.

At the lowest position, there is Afghanistan ranked 106th with visa-free access to 26 destinations, two less than last year. Above it, Syria was ranked 105th in a row with 27 destinations and Iraq in its 104th position with 31 destinations.

This shows that the gap between freedom of travel enjoyed by citizens in the top rank and the lowest is never wider.

"The idea of citizenship and lottery rights needs to be reconsidered fundamentally as temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and severe, displacing the community and making their environment uninhabitable," said Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley and Partners in a press release.

"At the same time, political instability and armed conflict in various regions forced many people to flee their homes to seek safety and protection," he continued.

Complementing the top 10 positions, Australia is in 6th position with Greece, and Canada is in 7th place with Malta and Poland.

The eighth position is occupied by the Czech Republic and Hungary, the United States and Estonia in 9th position, as well as the 10th position occupied by Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE noted that one of the biggest jumps, managed to secure additional access to 72 destinations since 2015, resulting in an increase of 32 places to 10th position with access to 185 destinations.

China also managed to record a significant rating jump from 94th in 2015 to 60th by 2025.

On the other hand, only 22 of the 199 passports in the world have experienced a decline in rankings in the past decade.

Venezuela is in the 1st position, followed by the United States as its most downgraded country, seven places from 2 to 9.

The passport list that experienced a subsequent decline in ranking was Vanuatu, followed by Britain and Canada.

It is known, the Henley & Partners list is one of several indexes created by financial companies to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.

1. Singapore (195 destinations)

2. Japan (193)

3. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, South Korea (192)

4. Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway (191)

5. Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, England (190)

6. Greece, Australia (189)

7. Canada, Poland, Malta (188)

8. Hungary, Czech Republic (187)

9. Estonia, United States (186)

10. Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (185)