India has dropped to the 85th position out of 199 countries from 80 last year in a list of the world’s most powerful passports, according to the 2025 Henley Passport Index released on Wednesday.
The index, published by citizenship and residence consultancy firm Henley and Partners, measures the strength of all the passports around the world based on how many destinations can be accessed by the passport-holders of a specific country without a pre-departure visa.
According to data available on the firm’s website for years between 2006 and 2025, India ranked the lowest at 90 in 2021. Its best ranking was 71 in 2006.
The ranking in the latest index was India’s lowest since 2021.
Indians can travel to 57 countries without a visa, as per the latest index. Last year, Indians could travel to 62 countries without requiring a visa.
In the 2025 index, India shared the 85th spot with Equatorial Guinea and Niger. Among India’s neighbours, Pakistan stood at 103, which was a drop from its rank of 101 in 2024, and Bangladesh was at 100. It was 97 in 2024.
Singapore retained its top rank in the passport index. Citizens of the Southeast Asian city-state can travel to 195 nations without a pre-departure visa. Japan had the second-most powerful passport in the world.
Last year, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain had secured the first rank in the index. This was the first time that six countries shared the top spot in the ranking.
This year, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Spain ranked third, with access to 192 countries without a pre-departure visa.
The weakest passport remained that of Afghanistan, which is ranked 106. Afghan citizens can only visit 26 countries without a visa.
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