Singapore possesses world's most powerful passport

Holders of Singapore's passport enjoy visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations, according to the latest index released by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.

The index ranks 199 global passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index is updated in real time throughout the year, as and when visa policy changes take effect.

France shared second position with Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain, whose passport holders can travel to 194 destinations without a pre-approved visa.

South Korea shared the third position with six other countries Sweden, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, Finland, and Austria as their passport holders can visit 193 countries without a visa.

U.S. passport holders can access 188 countries globally without a visa, putting it in eighth place.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysian passport is the second most powerful after Singapore's. Holders of Malaysian passport enjoy visa-free access to 183 destinations.

The Vietnamese passport maintained their 87th position in the ranking, as the number of visa-free destinations it enjoys stayed at 55. Vietnam shared the position with Bhutan, Chad, Comoro Islands, Egypt and Haiti.

With historical data spanning 18 years, the Henley Passport Index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.

The index is updated quarterly and is considered a standard reference tool when assessing where a passport ranks in terms of global mobility.