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US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs
- latexr 1y agoThe measure for how “powerful” a passport is: > The Henley Passport Index is the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index According to the article, the US passport was at the top of the list a decade ago, last year it was in seventh place, and now it’s in twelfth.
- Novosell 1y agoShared 12th. There are many ties. It is 36th overall, as in 35 countries can go to more places without a visa.
- latexr 1y agoFair point. To add, last year when it was in 7th it had 25 countries above it. The website only goes as far back as 2016, and at that point it was in 4th place with 10 countries above it.
- gp 1y agoThere are multiple ties in the list that actually put the US passport tied for 37th in the ranking. https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking
- graemep 1y agoIts a very simplistic measure. How easy it is to get visas is at least as important. From a practical point of view allow dual nationality is a big convenience.
- victor106 1y agoDoes this really matter? US is the most powerful country in the world economically and militarily and maybe even culturally.
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- strken 1y agoIt's a diplomatic bellwether. It doesn't matter in itself, but it's an interesting indicator of who is the most friendly nation. Note that Singapore leads the list; consider what you know about their foreign policy approach. Is it in the interests of the US to play nice? Is that even morally correct? Regardless, this is a sign that it's no longer doing so.
- sdsd 1y agoIt matters if you like to travel. I dislike having to apply for a visa to travel somewhere. I'm blessed with a Mexican passport which means I can go almost anywhere in the world just with my passport.
- krapp 1y ago> US is the most powerful country in the world economically and militarily and maybe even culturally Wait.
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- Argonaut998 1y agoNo it really doesn't matter. This crap is just a vanity metric to make people feel better about themselves or to feel self-righteous. You just need to look at the countries that require a tourist(!) visa of Americans, the vast majority are irrelevant. I can't wait to go to Eritrea, too bad I need a visa :( Tourism is not a big deal either, I think freedom to work/live is a much better metric, but obviously the USA is not great in that regard. The USA is the strongest passport because it is the only passport that allows permanent residency and/or visa free travel in the US, aside from Canada and a few billionaire tax haven islands or other stragglers. >maybe even culturally Yes, in my country young women have an American accent from watching TikTok.
- BirAdam 1y agoI agree that Dual Citizenship is a dream among a large plurality of Americans, but I don’t think it’s for Visa-free tourism. I think it’s because a growing number of Americans feel that the country is unstable and likely headed toward a failed-state status.
- Forgeties79 1y agoBeen exploring it in my household for sure.
- jghn 1y agoSame. It's shifted from an escapist fantasy about getting away from it all to a more literal definition of "escapist fantasy". if it weren't for family & friend ties binding us to our geographical area it'd already be a lot more serious. We're not *that* far from a low end FIRE situation, so a move to a more LCOL country could make a ton of sense and escape ... all of this.
- Forgeties79 1y agoI get a lot of grief for it from a few people but the simple fact is it’s gone from an unthinkable possibility to something I would consider a single-digit- percentage possibility. At that point it feels like something I need to at least be moderately prepared for. Especially as someone in the gulf south. It just doesn’t feel very safe down here anymore. Watching ICE roll through in full equipment on armored vehicles during Mardi Gras this year was a serious wake up call. That’s not the kind of show of force you do for shits and giggles. That’s textbook “send them a message.”
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- sippeangelo 1y agoFrom an EU perspective I would have been out of there in February. But what is it they say, again? "Grass is always browner on the other side"? It also helps being part of a minority that the sitting regime wants to exterminate to the very definition of the word.
- Thaxll 1y agoThis list is useless, it's much better to have a US / Can / EU passport than Singapore for example, Singapore has 50 overseas missions world-wide, for instance France has 280, good luck if you're in trouble oversea.
- Havoc 1y agoThat plus EU missions are obligated to help other EU nationals if they don't have home country representation via their own country
- gethly 1y agoIt is very weird list when dozens of countries reside on the same spot in the list. It would make more sense to have levels or ratings, instead of places.
- Havoc 1y agotbh anything in the top 25% of the listing is more or less the same. You need to travel to some pretty exotic places to hit difference. Still, the US certainly isn't doing itself any favours on rep lately
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- NaOH 1y agoTwo days ago: US Passport Power Falls to Historic Low - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45595746 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45595746 - Oct 2025 (169 comments)
- newswangerd 1y agoI’ve always argued that the US is the most powerful passport despite not granting access to the most countries for one simple reason: it’s one of only half a dozen passports that lets you visit the US visa free.
- zahlman 1y agoWhat are the others? Canada, I'm sure, who else?
- khuey 1y agoBermuda, Palau, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and subject to some rules, the Bahamas and a few British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean.
- newswangerd 1y agoCanada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. A very weird assortment of countries, aside from Canada. https://www.passportindex.org/comparebyDestination.php?p1=us&y1=2025 https://www.passportindex.org/comparebyDestination.php?p1=us...
- khuey 1y ago> A very weird assortment of countries, aside from Canada. It's less weird if you know that the three Pacific island countries were formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands which was administered by the US for decades following the Second World War and today have Compacts of Free Association with the US.
- eddywebs 1y agoI would argue it's dangerous to be having US passport simply because US historically, has been in wars with of lot of countries and some people of such nations would be ready to kidnap one.
- Swizec 1y ago> it’s [US passport] one of only half a dozen passports that lets you visit the US visa free. That is just false. EU passports can travel to USA Visa free and that’s 27 countries right there. edit: Oh unless you count ESTA as a type of visa. You have to fill out a 5min always-approved form online.
- khuey 1y agoMore applicable to the average American traveler's life than whether they can visit 180 or 181 countries without a visa is the rise of electronic travel authorization requirements from other countries. The UK imposed one earlier this year and the EU is set to do the same next year (though ETIAS seems perpetually delayed). While everyone involved (except Australia) insists that electronic travel authorizations are not visas they are for all practical purposes.
- sojournerc 1y agoHaving recently traveled through the UK as a US citizen, it was a 5 minute process in an app. Nothing to be concerned about. Honduras, where I travel frequently, already does fingerprints as the EU is about to do. It's just not a big deal or a barrier to travel. Currently going from Scandinavia to Northern continental Europe and it couldn't be easier. So much FUD for so little change.
- khuey 1y agoIt's not that it's a big deal, it's that these rankings are pointless because they say that US citizens can go to the UK visa free but not Vietnam when in practice the requirement to enter both countries is exactly the same (go on a website, fill out a form, and pay $20ish).
- sojournerc 1y agoYah, I'm not disagreeing. US passport is still very good, if only because of easy access to US embassies abroad in case of trouble. I don't mind a little paperwork to travel to other countries
- whycome 1y agoDo you think it’s a 5 min process for everyone?
- sojournerc 1y agoYes, as long as your face matches the one in your passport, I don't see why it wouldn't.
- wslh 1y agoFor a one-click list of the index, go to <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley_Passport_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley_Passport_Index> instead of Heinley's site.
- Argonaut998 1y agoTourism metrics are pointless and I'm surprised no one thought of a better way to measure these rankings involving freedom to work, freedom to live, access to embassies, geopolitical power etc
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- wenc 1y agoThis is it. Counting countries with visa-free access to passports seems like vanity metric -- there are many countries that I will never visit in my life. Freedom to work/live and consular access in places where people want to be is way more important.
- ChrisArchitect 1y ago[dupe] Discussion on source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45595746 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45595746
- Razengan 1y agoIt should be a basic human right for people to go or live anywhere they want as long as they can support themselves and adhere to local law and customs. The way it was for tens of thousands of years before the last couple centuries.
- tim333 1y agoThe "powerful" thing is just a count of how many countries do visa free entry. A lot of such deals are reciprocal so if the US is giving foreigners a hard time visiting it's likely some countries will make it harder for them.