Passport Index: SA drops another visa-free travel destination
The South African passport has fallen one place on the 2025 Henley & Partners Passport Index and lost visa-free access to another country.
According to the latest Henley Passport Index, South Africa’s passport power has declined once again, as the 2025 global rankings were released.
The Henley Passport Index ranks the world’s passports based on how many destinations their holders can enter without a visa, making it the original and authoritative source for passport strength.
“With historical data spanning 19 years, the Henley Passport Index is the only one of its kind based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.” Henley & Partners says.
SA passport drops another spot
According to these rankings, the SA passport has dropped another spot from 50 to 51 on the list of 199 passports.
The index also highlighted that South Africans can now only travel to 103 destinations, after losing visa-free travel access to Nigeria. South Africans travelling to this African nation will now require an e-visa for entry.
The top passports of the world
Here are is the updated list of the top five most powerful passports:
| Rank | Country | Number of visa-free countries |
| 1 | Singapore | 193 |
| 2 | Japan | 190 |
| 2 | South Korea | 190 |
| 3 | Denmark | 189 |
| 3 | Finland | 189 |
| 3 | France | 189 |
| 3 | Germany | 189 |
| 3 | Ireland | 189 |
| 3 | Italy | 189 |
| 3 | Spain | 189 |
| 4 | Austria | 188 |
| 4 | Belgium | 188 |
| 4 | Luxembourg | 188 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 188 |
| 4 | Norway | 188 |
| 4 | Portugal | 188 |
| 4 | Sweden | 188 |
| 5 | Greece | 187 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 187 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 187 |