World’s 10 most powerful passports as UK ‘weaker’ than Germany, Denmark and Ireland | World | News
A traveller’s passport may be small, but it has the power to allow us to explore almost the entire world, from the beaches of Europe to the mountains of Asia and the savannahs of Africa. The 2026 Global Passport Index, an annual report produced by Global Citizen Solutions since 2021, has officially unveiled its latest rankings by looking far beyond simple holiday destination counts.
It looks at the value of passports across an impressive 197 different countries and territories, considering each’s enhanced mobility, investment and quality of living. For those who follow the ranking each year, the top spot will come as no surprise, as it has done for the past three years.
Sweden remains in first place, scoring 96.05 out of 100 and putting it 72.95 points ahead of Afghanistan, which sits in last. The gap between the two nations has widened since the report first started, “confirming that the divergence between the world’s strongest and weakest travel documents is not a post-pandemic anomaly but a deepening structural condition,” the global mobility firm said. Switzerland also retained its second-place position from last year, having worked its way up from 11th since 2021.
As for the UK, it made it into the top 10 – taking eighth place – the same position as in 2025. Previous reports saw it improve from seventh in 2021 and 2022 up to sixth in 2024, but it has since tumbled down the ranking. The report notes that the UK is “notably weaker than its peers” in mobility due to post-Brexit travel access issues. Despite this, its other components help it to place well.
Finland follows in third, where it has sat since 2024, with 94.4 points, while Germany and the Netherlands place fourth and fifth, respectively, with 94.3 and 93.7 points. Denmark is tied in fifth, followed by Ireland, the UK, Norway and Singapore – the only non-European nation – to complete the top 10.
Having placed first in 2021 with an impressive score of 96.45 overall, the highest in the index’s history, this year the US passport has fallen dramatically to 12th place and a score of 92.37 – the steepest decline of any G7 country in the index. The report blamed this on a major decline in the mobility factor, with the US falling from 10th to 41st.
As for the 10 weakest passports, the rankings are dominated mostly by conflict-affected Asian states and African countries. Sudan places 188th, followed by Congo (Brazzaville), the Central African Republic and Congo (Kinshasa). Eritrea ranks 192nd, Syrian Arab Republic 193rd, Yemen 194th and South Sudan is 195th.
Somalia ranks 196th, followed by Afghanistan in 197th place, rounding out the table.
