The UK passport has risen to fourth position on a list of the world's best passports for allowing nations to cross borders without a visa. Since 2017, the British passport has achieved its highest ranking.

Four times a year, the Henley Passport Index assesses the strength of nearly every national passport in the world and sets them against one another, designating the planet's most and least strong nationalities. In 2023, the UK finished sixth, but by the beginning of 2024, we had risen to fourth.

In contrast, the United States has continued to slide lower down the index. Former passport powerhouses the United Kingdom and the United States tied for first place on the ranking ten years ago, in 2014. The United Kingdom also held the top place in 2013 and 2015.

Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley and Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, stated: "The general trend over the last two decades has been towards greater travel freedom, with the global average number of visa-free destinations nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024."

"However, the worldwide mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the ranking is currently bigger than ever before.

The biggest faller over the last decade is Venezuela, which has plunged 17 places from 25th to 42nd on the Henley Passport Index. The country is due to hold decisive presidential elections on 28 July that could change the fate of more than seven million Venezuelans who have fled their country over the past decade amid an economic and political crisis brought about by a crash in the oil price combined with chronic government corruption and mismanagement.