UAE passport ranks world's most powerful in 2026, offering access to 182 destinations

Dubai: The UAE passport has been ranked the most powerful in the world in the 2026 Passport Index, giving Emirati citizens access to 182 destinations without having to obtain a traditional visa in advance, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM).

The ranking places the UAE ahead of Singapore and Malaysia, which share second place with access to 175 destinations each, followed by Spain in third place with 174.

The UAE's position reflects more than a number in an international ranking, according to WAM, highlighting the country's global standing and the confidence it enjoys internationally.

According to the latest figures published by the Passport Index, the UAE passport has a mobility score of 182, comprising 138 visa-free destinations and 44 destinations offering other qualifying simplified entry arrangements. A further 16 destinations fall outside those categories.

The UAE holds a seven-destination advantage over Singapore and Malaysia, and an eight-destination lead over Spain.

The ranking, developed by Arton Capital, measures the travel freedom offered by passports worldwide, taking into account the number of destinations their holders can access without securing a conventional visa before travelling.

Unlike annual rankings that are updated periodically, the Passport Index operates as a real-time platform, revising its figures when countries introduce new visa exemptions or change entry requirements.

How the world's top 10 passports compare

Singapore and Malaysia share second place with mobility scores of 175, while Spain ranks third with 174.

Fourth place is shared by a large group of countries, including Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Austria, Croatia, Norway, Ireland and Japan, each with a score of 173.

Malta, Slovenia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia and South Korea share fifth place with 172 destinations.

Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Lithuania follow in sixth place, each with a mobility score of 171.

The United Kingdom and Cyprus share seventh place with 170, followed by Canada, Liechtenstein and New Zealand in eighth with 169.

Australia and Iceland occupy ninth place with 168 destinations, while the United States ranks tenth with a mobility score of 167.

How Passport Index calculates its rankings

The Passport Index, developed by Arton Capital, is the world's original interactive passport ranking platform and the only global ranking that updates passport mobility scores in real time.

Its methodology covers passports issued by 193 United Nations member states and six additional territories: Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Kosovo, the Palestinian Territory and Vatican City, bringing the total to 199.

The index calculates each passport's mobility score based on access to destinations without a visa, visas available on arrival, electronic travel authorisations and electronic visas issued within three days.

Where passports have identical mobility scores, the ranking considers their respective visa-free and visa-on-arrival sections, with the United Nations Development Programme's 2018 Human Development Index used as a further tie-breaker.