The United States passport is no longer among the top 10 most powerful passports, according to a group monitoring global travel.

It’s now ranked 12th on the Henley Passport Index, which ranks passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

American passports allow citizens to travel visa-free to 180 countries around the world, the same number allowed by passports from Malaysia on the rankings, Forbes reported.

Singapore holds the top spot — with 193 accessible countries. South Korea is next with 190, and then Japan with 189.

Henley & Partners monitors which countries’ passports deliver the most and least global mobility, based on data from the International Air Transport Association, Forbes said.

The top five rankings include:

Singapore in first with 193 South Korea in second with 190 Japan in third with 189 Germany tied in fourth with 188 Italy tied in fourth with 188 Luxembourg tied in fourth with 188 Spain tied in fourth with 188 Switzerland tied in fourth with 188 Austria tied in fifth with 187 Belgium tied in fifth with 187 Denmark tied in fifth with 187 Finland tied in fifth with 187 France tied in fifth with 187 Ireland tied in fifth with 187 Netherlands tied in fifth with 187

In 2014, the United States was tied with the United Kingdom at No. 1, according to Forbes. The United Kingdom is now at No. 8, its lowest spot yet.

Since January, the United States passport decreased three places, as it used to be ranked No. 9. It was ranked No. 7 in 2024, Time reported.

But why did the U.S. passport have such a stark drop in the rankings?

Henley & Partners, a firm that specializes in helping families with citizenship and residence, cited a lack of visa reciprocity as a primary reason why countries fall down the rankings, Time said.

For example, Brazil ended visa-free travel in April for citizens of the US, Canada and Australia — citing a lack of reciprocity.

“The declining strength of the US passport over the past decade is more than just a reshuffle in rankings — it signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics,” said Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners, in a statement. “Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging ahead, while those resting on past privilege are being left behind.”

Time pointed to the President Donald Trump administration’s immigration guidelines.

In the report, Annie Pforzheimer, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said a series of “legal and questionably legal barriers to travel and temporary residence” have raised “red flags” for travelers.

“Even before a second Trump presidency, U.S. policy had turned inward,” she said. “That isolationist mindset is now being reflected in America’s loss of passport power.”

Another factor is the rising costs of visas in the U.S.

On the other hand, changes made by other countries are also pushing the United States down in the rankings, Time reported.

China expanded visa exemptions, which benefited many European nations included in the top 10 like Germany and France — but excluded the U.S. Vietnam also recently excluded the U.S. from its visa-free list, according to Time.

While American passport holders can access 180 out of 227 destinations visa-free, the U.S. itself allows only 46 to enter visa-free, putting it in 77th place on the Henley Openness Index, where it barely outpaces Iraq, Forbes said.

A U.S. visa is needed for a citizen of a foreign country to enter the United States most of the time. There are nonimmigrant visas for temporary travel and immigrant visas for travel to live permanently in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of State.

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