UAE becomes top Arab passport, climbs to 3rd most powerful in the world
Visa-free access expands at record pace
DUBAI – The February 2026 global passport rankings have placed the United Arab Emirates among the world’s most powerful travel documents, marking another milestone in the country’s long-running rise in global mobility.
The latest Henley Passport Index shows Emirati citizens can now access 186 destinations without obtaining a prior visa. That puts the UAE in third place worldwide, tied with Sweden. The index tracks 199 passports across 227 destinations using aviation and visa data.
According to the report, the UAE stands out as the strongest long-term performer over the past two decades. Since 2006, the Emirati passport has added 149 visa-free destinations and climbed 57 ranking places. No other country has recorded a larger gain across the index’s 20-year history.
Top 10 strongest passports
At the top of the 2026 table, Singapore remains number one with access to 192 destinations. Japan and South Korea share second place with 187. A large European cluster follows closely behind, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark and others at 185 destinations. The United States has returned to the top 10 with 179 destinations after briefly slipping out in late 2025.
Afghanistan remains last with access to 24 destinations, creating a 168-destination gap between the strongest and weakest passports.
UAE passport in last 20 years
The UAE’s ranking journey shows one of the steepest upward curves on record. Based on the historical index chart, the country ranked 62nd in 2006, hovered around the low 60s until 2012, then accelerated sharply from 2013 onward.
It moved to 42nd in 2015, 38th in 2016 and 21st in 2018. By 2019 it reached 15th, entered the top 20 consistently from 2020, rose to 11th in 2024, 10th in 2025, and now sits at 3rd in 2026 — its highest recorded position.
India and Pakistan remain far apart in the February 2026 rankings. India is placed 75th with access to 56 destinations without a prior visa, while Pakistan ranks 97th with access to 32 destinations. Both passports improved compared with early-2020s lows but remain in the lower half of the global table.
Over the past two decades, India has mostly ranged between the low 70s and mid 80s, while Pakistan has largely remained between the high 80s and low 100s, with a dip to 113th recorded in 2021 on the historical chart.