The New Zealand passport has maintained its ranking as one of the most powerful in the world in the Henley & Partners Index.
The Index, based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.
According to the Index, those with New Zealand passports can travel to 183 countries visa-free, down from 186 in October.
This places New Zealand in sixth place alongside Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Malta, and Poland.
First place in the Index was Singapore, where passport holders can travel to 192 countries visa-free. It was followed by Japan and South Korea in second place, which both have access to 188 countries visa-free.
Australia was ranked seventh alongside Latvia, Liechtenstein, and the United Kingdom.
In last place was Afghanistan, which has access to just 24 countries without a visa.
Ahead of Afghanistan was Syria and Iraq, which had visa-free access to 26 and 29 countries respectively.
2026’s most powerful passports by Henley & Partners
- Singapore (192 destinations)
- Japan, South Korea (188 destinations)
- Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (186 destinations)
- Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway (185 destinations)
- Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates (184 destinations)
- Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Malta, New Zealand, Poland (183 destinations)
- Latvia, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom (182 destinations)
- Canada, Iceland, Lithuania (181 destinations)
- Malaysia (180 destinations)
- United States (179 destinations)
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