India has slipped to 125th position in the Global Passport Index 2026, dropping one rank from last year and remaining outside the list of the world’s 100 most powerful passports. The latest rankings highlight the limited global travel freedom available to Indian passport holders compared to many other countries, with visa requirements continuing to restrict access to a large number of international destinations.
According to the latest index, the Indian passport currently provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 26 destinations across the world. However, Indian travellers are still required to obtain visas before travelling to around 88 countries, including major destinations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China and the United Arab Emirates. The rankings reflect the extent of international mobility enjoyed by passport holders and are based on the ease of global travel without prior visa approvals.
India’s latest ranking marks a slight setback after showing gradual improvement over the past few years. The country was ranked 127th in the Global Passport Index between 2021 and 2023, before improving to 124th in 2025. However, the latest rankings show India slipping back to 125th, indicating that its global travel mobility has remained largely stagnant despite previous gains.
The index also places India behind several Asian and African countries. Nations including Namibia, the Philippines, Morocco and Uzbekistan are ranked higher than India, while the Indian passport continues to perform better than those of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.
Despite the lower ranking, Indian passport holders can still travel without obtaining a visa in advance—or receive a visa upon arrival—in several destinations. These include Bhutan, Nepal, Jamaica, Macau, Palestine, Tunisia, Angola and Barbados, among others. These destinations continue to offer relatively easy access for Indian travellers compared to many developed nations that maintain stricter entry requirements.
Among India’s neighbouring countries, China holds the strongest passport, ranking 104th in the Global Passport Index 2026, significantly ahead of India. However, India continues to rank above several South Asian neighbours, with Nepal placed 164th, Bangladesh 166th and Pakistan 188th in the latest rankings.
The Global Passport Index 2026 is once again dominated by European nations, reflecting the continent’s strong international mobility and widespread visa-free travel agreements. Sweden has secured the top position as the world’s most powerful passport, followed by Switzerland in second place and Finland in third. Germany ranks fourth, while Denmark and the Netherlands jointly occupy fifth place. Ireland is ranked seventh, followed by the United Kingdom in eighth, Norway in ninth and Singapore as the only Asian country in the top 10, securing the tenth position.
Outside the top 10, the United States and France are jointly ranked 11th, while Canada occupies 13th place, underscoring the continued strength of passports from Europe and North America in facilitating global travel.
The latest rankings highlight the persistent disparity in global travel freedom, with European countries continuing to offer their citizens the widest international mobility. Meanwhile, countries such as India continue to face relatively stringent visa requirements across much of the world, limiting the ease of international travel for their passport holders.
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