For the first time, the U.S. passport has dropped out of the top 10 most powerful in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index. The latest ranking places the American passport at No. 12, tied with Malaysia, granting visa-free access to 180 destinations.

The Henley Passport Index, compiled using data from the International Air Transport Association, measures how many countries passport holders can enter without a visa. The U.S. passport has slipped three spots since January, when it ranked ninth, and fell another place in July before dropping out of the top 10 in October.

In 2014, the United States shared the No. 1 ranking with the United Kingdom. Today, American travelers have 13 fewer visa-free destinations than holders of Singapore’s passport, which ranks No. 1 with access to 193 countries.

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Henley & Partners, the firm behind the index, said the decline reflects reduced reciprocity and an “isolationist mindset.” Annie Pforzheimer, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the U.S. “isolationist mindset is now being reflected in America’s loss of passport power,” according to Forbes.

While Americans can visit 180 destinations without a visa, the U.S. allows only 46 nationalities to enter visa-free, placing it 77th on the Henley Openness Index—just ahead of Iraq.

Henley attributed this year’s slide partly to the loss of visa-free travel to Brazil in April and exclusion from China’s growing visa-free list. “Most recently, Somalia’s launch of a new eVisa system and Vietnam’s decision to exclude the U.S. from its latest visa-free additions delivered the final blow, pushing it out of the Top 10,” the company said in a statement.

Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners, said the trend highlights shifting global dynamics. “The declining strength of the U.S. passport over the past decade is more than just a reshuffle in rankings—it signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics,” Kaelin said.

The world’s most powerful passports now include Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Germany, and Italy, each granting access to at least 188 destinations without a visa.