New ranking suggests Canada passport among 'top 5 losers' in the world

The new Canadian passport is unveiled at an event at the Ottawa International Airport on May 10, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)

A new global ranking may raise doubts about Canada's reputation of being open to other countries.

While Singapore kept its status as the country with the world's most powerful passport, Canada was considered among the "top 5 losers" in a new global ranking released Wednesday.

Canada sat at seventh among 199 passports, falling three places over the past decade, according to the 2025 Henley Passport Index.

The Henley Passport Index ranks all the world's 199 passports based on the number of destinations they can enter without a visa. It uses official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Read more about the methodology here.

Canada shared the seventh spot with Malta and Poland, with the three countries allowing visa-free access to 188 out of 227 destinations.

Singapore was the lone country at the top with visa-free access to 195 out of 227 destinations, followed by Japan (193) in second, and Finland, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Spain in the third position (192), according to the index.

Other climbers and losers

China was among the biggest climbers, rising from 94th place in 2015 to 60th in 2025 with its visa-free score growing by 40 destinations.

The United Arab Emirates was also among the biggest climbers over the past decade, landing in 10th place with visa-free access to 185 destinations.

Meanwhile, Venezuela plunged the most in ranking between 2015 and 2025, falling from 30th to 45th. The United States was the country with the second-biggest decline in ranking, dropping from second to ninth position over the past decade.

Once the top of the index in 2015, the United Kingdom now sits in fifth place.

Afghanistan remained at the bottom of the list as it only allowed visa-free access to 26 destinations, losing visa-free access to two more places over the past year.

In comparison, Singaporeans are able to travel to 169 more destinations visa-free than Afghan passport holders. Consequently, the index, in a press release Wednesday, called this the "largest mobility gap" in its 19-year history.