U.S. Slips From Top 10 Most Powerful Passports List
Photo Credit: A hand holding a U.S. passport. Adobe Stock / Jeff McCollough
Skift Take
The U.S. passport is losing clout as the country tightens its travel restrictions.
The American passport isn’t what it used to be.
Roughly a decade after ranking No. 1 on the Henley Passport Index, the United States in October fell to 12th place alongside Malaysia – the first time in the index’s 20-year history the U.S. dropped outside the top 10 slots.
With visa-free access to 180 destinations – down from 182 in July – U.S. passport power falls behind 36 other countries in the latest quarterly report from Henley & Partners, an advisory firm that publishes the rankings based on data from the International Air Transport Association.
The reshuffling signals a “fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics,” according to Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners.
“Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging ahead, while
