THE PHILIPPINE passport is the 73rd most powerful in the world this 2026, according to the Henley Global Passport Index.
This is one step lower than the 72nd rank it occupied in July last year. The Philippines also ranked 73rd in 2024, 78th in 2023, 80th in 2022, 77th in 2021, and 74th in 2020.
The ranking is based on the total number of destinations a holder can visit visa-free. Each visa-free destination is equivalent to a score of 1, based on the report that uses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Singapore still has the world’s most powerful passport, with its citizens able to visit 192 countries visa-free.
In second place are Japan and Korea, where citizens can visit 188 countries without a visa.
Here are the 10 most powerful passports in the world, according to the Henly Global Passport Index:
* Singapore (visa-free score 192)
* Japan, South Korea (188)
* Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (186)
* Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway (185)
* Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (184)
* Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Malta, New Zealand, Poland (183)
* Australia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom (182)
* Canada, Iceland, Lithuania (181)
* Malaysia (180)
* United States (179)
The world’s weakest passport is that of Afghanistan, which has a score of 24. (ABS-CBN News)
