Pakistan’s passport has climbed five places on the Henley Passport Index 2026, improving from 103rd in 2025 to 98th this year, according to figures released on Thursday.
The Pakistani passport now ranks joint 98th alongside Yemen. It stands above Iraq (99), Syria (100), and Afghanistan (101).
According to the index, Pakistani citizens can access 31 destinations without a prior visa, including visa-on-arrival facilities. Singapore topped the rankings, offering visa-free access to 192 countries. Japan and South Korea followed with access to 188 destinations.
Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland shared third place, each allowing visa-free travel to 186 countries.
Pakistani passport holders enjoy visa-free access to countries such as Barbados, the Cook Islands, Dominica, Haiti, Micronesia, Montserrat, Rwanda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu.
They can obtain visas on arrival in Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Nepal, Niue, Palau, Qatar, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu.
The index also allows Pakistani citizens to secure Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETA) for Kenya, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi welcomed the improvement in a post on X. He described it as a “strong achievement” and pledged to maintain the upward momentum.
Last October, Pakistan’s passport ranked 103rd, making it the world’s fourth-worst for the fifth consecutive year. It has remained among the bottom-ranked passports since at least 2021.
In previous years, the passport ranked 100th in both 2023 and 2024, 109th in 2022, and 107th in 2021, based on its visa-free access score calculated by the Henley Index.