Canadian passport in a file photo. (Epoch Times)
The global standing of Canada’s passport continues to decline compared to some Asian and European nations, but it still maintains a higher ranking than the United States, new data indicates.
A Canadian passport achieved a score of 184 points on the latest count by the Henley Passport Index to secure eighth place, while the United States scored 182 points to rank 10th. The index ranks 199 passports worldwide each year, based on data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
This year’s scores mean Canadian travellers can access 184 international destinations out of a total of 227 without requiring a visa, while Americans can travel to 182.
Canada’s passport has decreased by another point since the start of the year, bringing the total loss to four points over the past decade. Canada is currently tied with Estonia and the United Arab Emirates for the eighth-strongest passport worldwide, having dropped from seventh place since the last update of the index.
Together with the United States, the United Kingdom, Vanuatu, and Venezuela, Canada is included in the list of countries that have seen the most significant decline in scores, according to the newly updated index.
The United Kingdom and the United States used to have the two most powerful passports in the world, but have dropped in the rankings over the past decade. The UK was ranked No. 1 in 2015 but now sits in sixth place. The United States sat atop the index in 2014 but is now nearing the point of falling out of the top 10 rankings for the first time in the 20-year history of the index.
Singapore tops the 2025 list, followed by Japan and South Korea which tied for second, and Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain which tied for third.
Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden tied for fourth place on the index while Greece, New Zealand, and Switzerland jointly took fifth on the list.
The UK was alone in sixth place followed by Australia, Czechia, Hungary, Malta, and Poland in seventh.
The Asia-Pacific sector is a key player in the global travel industry, the index report said. The demand for air travel experienced a growth of 5.8 percent during the first five months of 2025 on a global scale, with certain regional differences observed. In contrast, airlines in the Asia-Pacific region reported a growth rate of 9.5 percent.
The index also revealed a trend that indicates emerging economies are liberalizing their visa regimes, while “legacy powers” like the UK and the United States appear to be adopting “more restrictive entry policies,” a press release from Henley & Partners said.
Henley & Partners CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen said Americans are currently at the forefront of the global demand for alternative residence and citizenship options. British citizens are also ranked among the top five worldwide.
Jennifer Cowan is a writer and editor with the Canadian edition of The Epoch Times.