Pakistan Climbs Two Spots in Henley Passport Index 2026, Remains Among World’s Lowest-Ranked Passports
- Pakistan rises from 103rd to 101st in the Henley Passport Index 2026.
- Pakistani passport holders can now access 29 destinations without obtaining a prior visa.
- Despite the improvement, Pakistan remains among the four lowest-ranked passports globally.
- Singapore retains the world’s strongest passport with visa-free access to 192 destinations.
Pakistan has improved its position in the Henley Passport Index 2026, climbing two places to 101st with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 29 destinations. The country ranked 103rd in the previous edition, reflecting a modest year-on-year improvement in global passport mobility.
Despite the gain, Pakistan continues to rank among the world’s weakest passports, remaining in the bottom four alongside Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
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The latest rankings, released by Henley & Partners, assess the strength of 199 passports based on access to 227 travel destinations worldwide. The index measures how many destinations passport holders can enter without securing a visa in advance, while noting that temporary travel restrictions or bans may supersede the visa policies reflected in the rankings.
Singapore retained its position as the world’s most powerful passport, offering visa-free access to 192 destinations. Japan followed in second place with access to 188 destinations, while South Korea and the United Arab Emirates shared the next position with the same score.
Sweden ranked alongside the leading group with access to 187 destinations, while Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain collectively occupied the next tier with visa-free access to 186 destinations.
At the opposite end of the index, Afghanistan remained the lowest-ranked passport with access to just 22 destinations. Syria and Iraq followed, with Pakistan completing the bottom four despite its slight improvement.
Pakistan also continued to trail several countries in South Asia. India ranked 81st with access to 55 destinations, Bangladesh placed 97th with 35 destinations, and Nepal ranked 98th with 34, leaving Pakistan behind all three regional neighbours in terms of global travel freedom.
While the move from 103rd to 101st marks incremental progress, Pakistan’s passport continues to offer significantly more limited international mobility than both regional and global averages.
The Henley Passport Index is compiled using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and incorporates 20 years of historical travel data, making it one of the most widely referenced global benchmarks for measuring passport strength and international mobility.
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