The updated 2023 Henley Passport Index was released on Tuesday, July 18. Singapore tops the list, having the world's most powerful passport. It has visa-free access to 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the globe.
While the US once topped the ranking nearly a decade back, it is now in the eighth place with 184 destinations listed as visa free.
“Of the countries sitting in the Top 10, the US has seen the smallest increase in its score on the Henley Passport Index over the past decade, securing visa-free access to just 12 additional destinations between 2013 and 2023. Singapore, by comparison, has increased its score by 25, pushing it five places up the ranking over the past 10 years to number one spot,” the website of Henley and Partners says.
‘The US has fallen behind’
Greg Lindsay, leading global strategist and urban tech fellow at Cornell Tech’s Jacobs Institute, said of the latest situation, “The story is a simple one — by more or less standing still, the US has fallen behind. While its absolute score has in fact risen over the last decade, the US has been steadily overtaken by rivals such as South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. America’s relentless slide down the rankings — and unlikelihood of reclaiming the highest position any time soon — is a warning to its neighbor Canada and the rest of the Anglosphere as well.”
‘The lack of a demand from inside the US for a change in policy’
Annie Pforzheimer, a former career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State and a senior non-resident associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the the static state of affairs of the US could possibly remain “due to the lack of a demand from inside the US for a change in policy, the extreme political risk for any group or politician who unwittingly facilitates travel by a terrorist, and the fact that tourism has surged post-pandemic anyway, even with a restrictive visa waiver program.”
{{/usCountry}}Annie Pforzheimer, a former career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State and a senior non-resident associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the the static state of affairs of the US could possibly remain “due to the lack of a demand from inside the US for a change in policy, the extreme political risk for any group or politician who unwittingly facilitates travel by a terrorist, and the fact that tourism has surged post-pandemic anyway, even with a restrictive visa waiver program.”
{{/usCountry}}Annie added, “Unfortunately, that status quo, over time, may well contribute to a decline in US soft power if businesses struggle to invite partners to trade shows and meetings, tourists encounter needless application delays and look elsewhere, and open xenophobia erodes the public reputation of the US as a world leader.”
Henley’s Passport Index ranking tracks data from the International Air Transport Association. The methodology used to make the list is different from other passport indexes, including the one published by financial advisory Arton Capital. This put the United Arab Emirates in the lead position last year.