Singapore is now the most powerful passport in the world, with its citizens able to visit 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free, according to the latest ranking based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).  

For five years, Japan was sitting at the top spot on the Henley Passport Index, which measures global travel freedom in terms of visa-free access to countries. However, Japan has been knocked off the top spot for the first time in five years and bumped into third place. 

The citizens of Singapore can visit 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free. 

While Asia has for long dominated the top leaderboard in the Henley Passport Index, Europe is bouncing back. Germany, Italy, and Spain all move up into second place with visa-free access to 190 destinations. 

Meanwhile, the Japanese passport holders join six other nations- Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden in the third place with access to 189 destinations without a prior visa. 

The UK has finally turned the corner after a six-year decline, jumping up two places on the latest ranking to the fourth place. 

The US, on the other hand, continues its now decade-long slide down the index, plummeting a further two places to the eighth spot with access to just 184 destinations visa-free. Both the UK and the US jointly held 1st place on the index nearly 10 years ago in 2014 but have been on a downward trajectory ever since.  

Afghanistan remains entrenched at the bottom of the index, with a visa-free score of just 27. 

India has significantly improved its passport ranking in the index by rising 5 spots from last year. It is currently in the 80th position in the latest passport ranking. Indians can travel to 57 destinations completely visa-free or through visa-on-arrival. 

However, an Indian passport holder requires a visa to enter 177 destinations across the globe including in countries like US, China, Japan, Russia, and the entire European Union. 

Indians have visa-free access and visa-on-arrival to 57 destinations including countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Rwanda, Jamaica, Hong Kong, Dominica, Maldives and Sri Lanka. 

Image Source: Times Now