Enter 59 countries without a visa: India climbs 8 points to 77th on Henry Passport Index
India has made a significant leap in global liquidity, climbing eight positions to reach No. 77 in the mid-2025 update of the Henry Passport Index. This is the biggest improvement in any country in the past six months – India ranked 85th earlier this year.
The Henry Passport Index ranks the passport based on the number of destinations its holders can visit without the need for a previous visa. Thanks to two new additions to the visa list, Indian passport holders can now visit 59 countries, without a visa or obtain one on arrival.
More and more countries open their doors to Indian travelers
Currently, with the increase in international travel, Indians can enjoy visa-free travel in destinations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives and Thailand. Many other countries, including Sri Lanka, Macau and Myanmar, are also currently offering visa privileges to Indian nationals, thus facilitating travel to Asia and beyond.
The upward trend represents a greater change. According to IATA, countries such as India, China, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have almost caught up with traditional leaders such as the United States and the United Kingdom in terms of passport rights.
Asia Pacific Airlines leads travel boom
This shift is also evident in tourism trends. Asia Pacific Airlines saw the strongest growth in global air travel in the first five months of 2025, up 9.5%. Meanwhile, air traffic in North America is still flat, a reorganization of global travel models.
At the top of the passport rankings, Singapore continues to dominate with access to 193 destinations without a visa. Japan and South Korea are closely watching, while EU majors such as France, Germany and Italy take the top three.
By contrast, the UK and the US (once the leader) continue to decline gradually. The UK is now ranked sixth (186 destinations), while the US is ranked 10th (182 destinations).
Excellent achievements as well. Over the past decade, the UAE has added the largest number of visa-free destinations worldwide from 42 to 8th. China has also made a huge leap, occupying 34 places in 10 years and is now ranked 60th, driven in large part by the increase in diplomatic visa exemptions.
