The Reasons Behind the National Passport Continues to Drop in Global Ranking

Earlier this year, an online clip from a popular travel content creator expressing frustration over India's weak passport went viral on social media.

He mentioned that while neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka offered easier access of travelers from India, securing travel permits for visiting many nations in Europe and the West remained a challenge.

This dissatisfaction regarding the limited global access of Indian passports found confirmation in the latest global passport ranking, which placed the country in the 85th spot out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions than last year.

The Indian government has not commented regarding these findings yet.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan with much smaller economies than India – a nation that is the fifth-largest economy globally – hold better positions on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, respectively.

In fact, India's rank over the last ten years has hovered around the eighties, even dipping to ninetieth place two years ago. These rankings are dismal compared to other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all maintaining leading ranks.

Global Passport Power Measures

The power of a passport indicates a nation's soft power and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for passport holders, improving commercial and educational prospects. A weak passport results in more paperwork, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times when journeying.

However, even with the decline in the rank, the number of countries providing visa-free travel for Indian citizens has grown over the last ten years.

As an instance, eight years ago – the year the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free access for Indian passport holders and its passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to the 85th position, then rose to eightieth over the past two years, declining once more to the eighty-fifth spot currently. Meanwhile, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and 62 in 2024.

The Competitive Global Mobility Landscape

The count of visa-free destinations in 2025 (57) exceeds the number in 2015 (fifty-two), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in global mobility – meaning nations are forming more travel partnerships to benefit their citizens and their economies. According to recent analysis, the global average count of countries travellers are able to access without visas has almost doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to one hundred nine currently.

As an illustration, The Chinese passport has expanded the number of visa-free destinations available to its citizens from 50 to 82 in the past decade. Consequently, its rank on the index has improved from ninety-fourth to sixtieth in that same duration.

In comparison, The Indian passport – which was ranked at seventy-seventh place in July – dropped to eighty-fifth place this autumn following the loss to two countries.

Other Influences Affecting Passport Strength

An ex-diplomat from India notes there are other factors influencing a nation's passport power, like its economic and political stability plus its receptiveness to welcoming citizens from abroad.

For example, the American passport has dropped out of the top 10 currently holding the 12th position – its lowest ever – due to its increasingly insular stance in world politics.

The diplomat mentioned how in the 1970s, Indians enjoyed visa-free access to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable, democratic country.

"Many countries are growing increasingly wary of immigrants," he stated. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits affecting the country's reputation."

Elements such as how secure a country's passport is and immigration processes also play a role to obtaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Enhanced Security Measures

The Indian passport faces ongoing security risks. Last year, authorities detained over two hundred individuals for suspected visa and passport fraud. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador indicated that technological advances, like India's recently-launched digital passport or e-passport, may enhance safety and ease the immigration process. The e-passport contains a small chip that stores biometric data, increasing difficulty to counterfeit or alter the passport.

However, increased diplomatic efforts and travel agreements remain key for enhancing the global mobility for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.