Travel freedom

If the Philippines ranks 74th in terms of travel freedom global mobility, then what does that say about us?

- MARY ANN LL. REYES

The Philippines moved one spot up from its 75th ranking in the January index.

According to the 2025 Henley Passport Index as of April, which ranks all the world's 199 passports according to the number of destinations they can access visa-free, Singapore reclaims its crown as the most powerful passport in the world, with visa-free access to 193 destinations followed by Japan and South Korea which are tied at third, with visa-free access to 190 destinations.

On third spot are Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain which can access 189 countries and territories visa-free while fourth place includes Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden (188 destinations).

Fifth spot goes to Greece, New Zealand, and Switzerland (187) while in sixth place are Australia and United Kingdom (186).

In seventh place are Canada, Czechia, Hungary, Malta and Poland (185) while Estonia and the United Arab Emirates are eight (184). Ninth place went to Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the United States (183 visa-free destinations) while the 10th spot went to Iceland and Lithuania (182).

China is at 61th spot with 83 visa-free destinations.

Among the ASEAN countries, Singapore is high up on the list with a world ranking of number one while Malaysia placed high in the global mobility index at 11th with visa-free access to 181 destinations. Brunei Darussalam is at 18th place (164), Thailand at 63rd place (80), Indonesia at 68th spot (73), Philippines 74th place (65), Cambodia at 86th (52), Vietnam at 87th (51), Laos at 90th (48) and Myanmar at 92nd place (45th).

Syria and Afghanistan occupied the last two spots in the global ranking at 102nd and 103rd place with visa-free access to 27 and 25 destinations, respectively.