Singaporeans can travel to 192 destinations without obtaining a visa before departure. Their neighbors in Myanmar, meanwhile, have access to only 43 destinations. Both are ASEAN members, yet their experiences of international travel are separated by a significant gap.
What is the reason for that?
Mapping Passport Power in Southeast Asia
According to the January 2026 edition of the Henley Passport Index, which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 destinations, Singapore retained its position as the world's most powerful passport. Malaysia followed closely, ranking sixth globally.
Across ASEAN, passport strength in early 2026 ranked as follows:
- Singapore (192 destinations)
- Malaysia (183 destinations)
- Brunei Darussalam (163 destinations)
- Timor-Leste (92 destinations)
- Thailand (76 destinations)
- Indonesia (70 destinations)
- Philippines (65 destinations)
- Viet Nam (48 destinations)
- Cambodia (47 destinations)
- Laos (45 destinations)
- Myanmar (43 destinations)
The gap between the strongest and weakest passports in the region amounts to 149 destinations.
What Determines Passport Strength?
Strong passports do not emerge on their own. Countries with stable governance, robust economies, and extensive diplomatic networks are generally more successful in negotiating reciprocal travel agreements.
Conversely, countries facing internal conflicts or strained international relations often struggle to secure similar arrangements.
Malaysia offers a clear example of the results of active diplomacy. Over the past two decades, the country has steadily climbed the rankings and entered the world's top ten. Thailand has followed a similar trajectory by expanding its visa-free agreements to more than 76 destinations.
At the other end of the spectrum, Myanmar's passport reflects the country's domestic political and economic conditions. Internal conflict and international sanctions have limited its ability to negotiate visa-free agreements with other nations.
This perspective is not limited to mobility analysts. In Henley & Partners' 2026 report, Misha Glenny, an award-winning journalist and Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, highlighted the broader geopolitical dimensions of passport strength.
"Passport power ultimately reflects political stability, diplomatic credibility, and the ability to shape international rules."
Mobility Is Expanding, but Not Equally
On a global scale, average visa-free travel access has increased over the past two decades. However, greater mobility has not translated into greater equality.
The 2026 Henley Passport Index recorded a gap of 169 destinations between the world's strongest passport, Singapore (192 destinations), and the weakest, Afghanistan (23 destinations). This disparity is far wider than in 2006, when the equivalent gap stood at 110 destinations.
Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and creator of the Henley Passport Index, argues that the benefits of mobility are becoming increasingly concentrated among the world's most politically stable and economically powerful countries, while rising average access masks a deepening inequality.
"Today, passport privilege plays a decisive role in shaping opportunity, security, and economic participation, with rising average access masking a reality in which mobility advantages are increasingly concentrated among the world's most economically powerful and politically stable nations."
Within ASEAN, the same dynamic plays out on a smaller scale. Countries that maintain political stability and pursue active diplomacy continue to strengthen their global mobility, while those grappling with internal crises fall further behind.
