In December 2025, Canada based global financial advisory firm Arton Capital released the 2025 Passport Index. As per the index, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) retained its position as the world’s strongest passport for the 7th consecutive year, with an overall Mobility Score(MS) of 179, allowing visa-free access to 126 destinations, visa-on-arrivals in 45 countries and Estimate Time of Arrival (ETA) access to 08 countries.
- It is followed by Singapore and Spain which are placed jointly at 2nd spot in the index, with both countries securing an overall MS of 175.
- India ranked 67th globally with a mobility score of 74, granting visa-free access to 74 countries, covering 37% of the world.
Exam Hints:
- What? Release of 2025 Passport Index
- Released by: Arton Capital
- Top 3 Positions: The UAE (1st); Singapore and Spain (2nd)
- India’s Global Ranking: 67th (overall score of 74), visa-free access to 74 countries
- Bottom 3 Countries: Afghanistan (94th), Syria (93rd), Iraq (92nd).
About Passport Index:
Overview: The index, developed by Arton Capital in 2014, became the world’s most popular destination to learn about passport power.
Coverage: The index covered the passports of 193 United Nations (UN) member states and 6 selected territories.
Ranking Systems: The Passport Index has developed 3 different types of ranking systems: Global Passport Power Rank, Individual Passport Power Rank and Welcoming Countries Rank.
- These ranking systems are used to indicate trends and algorithms to define mobility, unity and freedom.
Global Passport Rank: In this ranking system, countries are ranked based on their Mobility Score (MS) which features visa-free, visa on arrival, eVisa if the country issued less than 3 working days.
World Openness Score (WOS): This year, WOS, a real-time barometer which measures the state of mobility around the world, declined by 1.3%, to 22,177 compared to 22,459 (in 2024)
Top 5 Countries in 2025 Passport Index:
| Rank | Name of the Country | Mobility Score (MS) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The United Arab Emirates(UAE) | 179 |
| 2 | Singapore and Spain | 175 |
| 3 | Belgium, France, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Austria, Malaysia, Norway, Ireland, South Korea, and Japan | 174 |
| 4 | Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary and Estonia | 173 |
| 5 | Malta, Romania, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Latvia, and New Zealand | 172 |
| 67 | India | 74 |
Bottom 5 Countries in 2025 Passport Index:
| Rank | Country | Mobility Score (MS) |
|---|---|---|
| 94 | Afghanistan | 38 |
| 93 | Syria | 39 |
| 92 | Iraq | 40 |
| 91 91 | Pakistan | 41 |
| Somalia | 41 |
Highlights of Passport Index 2025:
3rd Ranked Countries: The 3rd spot was shared by 18 countries namely, Belgium, France, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Austria, Malaysia, Norway, Ireland, South Korea, and Japan with overall MS of 174.
Top 3 Countries in Individual Ranking System: The UAE (1st), Singapore (2nd) and Spain (3rd).
Top 3 Welcoming Countries: Vietnam, Samoa, Tuvalu, Bolivia, among others (ranked at 1st spot); Ethiopia (ranked at 2nd spot); and Dominica, Palau and Madagascar (3rd) were ranked at top 3 positions in the Welcoming Countries Rank system.
Biggest Gainers: Singapore emerged as the biggest gainer in this year’s index, jumping from 30th spot to 2nd place in 2025 rankings.
- It is followed by Malaysia which improved its overall ranking from 41st to 17th spot in 2025 individual passport power rank and to 3rd spot in global passport rank.
Global Dominance: The index showed that European passports continue to dominate the global rankings as countries like: Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, among others were featured among the world’s top 20 countries.
Bottom 5 Countries: Afghanistan (94th)with an overall MS of 38, ranked lowest in the Global Passport Power Index; followed by Syria (93rd), Iraq (92nd) and Pakistan and Somalia (91st).
About Arton Capital:
President- Armand Arton
Headquarters – Montreal, Canada
Established- 2006
