KUWAIT CITY, Jan 8: The Kuwaiti passport has made significant progress in global rankings, climbing five places to secure the 50th position in the 2025 Henley Global Mobility Index, compared to its 55th rank in 2024. Kuwaiti citizens can now access 99 countries without a visa or with a visa on arrival, reflecting an improvement in the passport’s strength over the past five years.

The annual Henley Index assesses the mobility of passports from 199 countries, highlighting changes in travel freedom. Among Arab and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, the UAE passport continues to lead, ranking 10th globally with access to 185 visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations.

Other GCC passports also showed notable standings. Qatar ranked 47th globally with access to 112 countries, followed by Bahrain at 58th with 87 countries, Saudi Arabia at 60th with 86 countries, and Oman at 61st with 86 destinations.

Globally, European and East Asian nations continue to dominate the top rankings. Japan retained its position as the world’s most powerful passport, offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 194 destinations. Singapore ranked second, granting access to 193 destinations.

The third spot was shared by Germany, South Korea, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain (192 destinations). Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden tied for fourth (191 destinations), while France, Ireland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom ranked fifth (190 destinations). Belgium, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland followed closely with 189 destinations.

This year’s index reaffirms the continued global dominance of European and East Asian passports in terms of travel freedom.