On Wednesday 8 January, the consultancy firm Henley & Partners published a new passport ranking for the first quarter of 2025.
According to the company, Cyprus has dropped two places and is now 14th in the Henley Passport Index, compared to 12th in 2024.
Incidentally, Cypriot passport holders can now travel to 179 countries around the world without a visa. In addition, 47 destinations are available to them with an entry visa.
It should be noted that last year the Cypriot passport was in the best position in the ranking since 2006. The worst result was recorded in 2012, when Cyprus fell to 20th place due to the economic and banking crisis. The biggest jump came in 2013, when the Cypriot passport jumped five places to 15th position in the ranking. Since then, Cyprus' performance has been constantly fluctuating from year to year, for better or worse, by one or two places.
It should be remembered that the data comes from the consultancy firm Henley & Partners, based on figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
It is worth noting that in 2025, Singapore regained the title of leader among passports offering maximum freedom of movement. Its citizens can visit 195 of the world's 227 destinations without a visa. In second place is the Japanese passport, which gives its holders access to 193 visa-free destinations. Several European Union countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, dropped to third place with visa-free access to 192 countries.
They were joined by Finland and South Korea, which also lost one place each last year. Seven European countries - Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden - share fourth place with access to 191 destinations. Fifth place this time was taken by: Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, whose passports open doors to 190 countries.
Next are: Australia (6th place, 189 destinations), Canada (7th place, 188 countries), the US (9th place, 186 destinations) and the UAE, which has seen one of the biggest increases in the last decade, adding 72 visa-free destinations since 2015 and ranking 10th with access to 185 countries.
Afghanistan remains in last place. Its citizens lost access to two countries last year. This has widened the mobility gap to a record high in the 19 years of the index, with Singaporeans having access to 169 more visa-free destinations than Afghan passport holders. Christian Kälin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, highlighted the need to rethink the very concept of citizenship in the face of increasing natural disasters caused by climate change and growing political instability.
Last year, the CIS and neighbouring countries showed different dynamics in the World Passport Index. Against the backdrop of changes in international agreements on visa-free travel, some of them improved their positions, while others saw their rankings decline.
Russia remains one of the world's leading countries in terms of freedom of movement, ranking 46th with access to 116 destinations. Russia added Malawi to its list of visa-free countries during the year, but agreements with Togo, Gabon, North Macedonia and the Turks and Caicos Islands are no longer in force.
Belarus moved up two places to 62nd, maintaining stable visa-free access to 81 destinations (Grenada was added, Oman and Togo were removed). Georgia made a significant step forward, moving up six places to 44th. Kazakhstan also strengthened its position, moving up two places to 65th with access to 77 countries. Uzbekistan remained in 80th place with visa-free access to 62 countries.