The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations. It is considered “the standard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum,” according to a report accompanying the index. Several countries can occupy the same rank.
The Canadian passport has become even stronger than last year, ranking at #7, up from #8. The US, in seventh position last year, now occupies the eighth.
This is the first time Canada’s passport has ranked higher on the Henley Index in many years. The two countries’ passports tied for sixth place in 2019, but before and after that, Canada ranked lower than the US. In 2014, the US shared the top spot with the UK.
The passport index page only shows data from 2016 at the earliest. In 2018, it switched from being called the Henley Visa Restrictions Index to the Henley Passport Index. Daily Hive found older versions of the index using the Web Archive, which still showed Canada ranking lower than the US.
We have contacted Henley & Partners for further historical data.
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Canadian passport holders can access 187 countries without needing a visa, getting an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), or obtaining a visa on arrival, compared to 185 last year.
There are still a few countries for which Canadians may need a visa, such as Algeria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Chad, and China. Some other countries, like Cameroon, Vietnam, Egypt, and Benin, require an e-visa.
Singapore has dethroned Japan and now holds the strongest passport position.
The second strongest passports are those of France, Japan, Italy, Spain, and Germany.
Seven countries shared the third rank: Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden. Meanwhile, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom shared the fourth spot.