Overview
- Singapore leads with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea at 190 and Japan at 189.
- The United States drops out of the top 10 for the first time in two decades, tying 12th with Malaysia and accessing 180 of 227 jurisdictions.
- Henley cites policy shifts including Brazil’s return to visa requirements for U.S. travelers, Vietnam’s exclusion of the U.S. from its latest waiver list, Somalia’s new e-visa system, and entry-rule changes in Papua New Guinea and Myanmar.
- China has climbed from 94th in 2015 to 64th in 2025, and the United Arab Emirates has risen 34 places over the decade to enter the top 10, while the United Kingdom has slipped to eighth.
- Henley’s index uses IATA data across 227 destinations, and a rival ranking by Arton Capital places the UAE first in 2025, underscoring methodological differences.