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Earlier this year, a video from a popular travel content creator complaining about the limited power of the Indian passport gained massive traction across digital platforms.

He mentioned although neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Sri Lanka were more welcoming of Indian tourists, obtaining visas for visiting many nations in Europe and the West continued to be difficult.

This dissatisfaction regarding the limited global access of Indian passports was reflected in recent global passport ranking, which placed India at position eighty-five out of 199 countries, a decline of five positions compared to the previous year.

Officials in India has not commented regarding these findings yet.

Countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Azerbaijan despite smaller economic size compared to India – which is the fifth-largest economy globally – are ranked higher on the index at the 78th, 74th and 72nd spots, in that order.

In fact, the country's position over the last ten years has remained around the eighties, falling to ninetieth place in 2021. These rankings are dismal compared to Asian nations such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which have consistently held leading ranks.

What Passport Strength Measures

Passport strength indicates a country's global influence and global influence. It also translates into enhanced travel freedom for its citizens, boosting business and learning opportunities. Limited passport power results in additional documentation, higher visa costs, fewer travel privileges and longer waiting times for travel.

However, even with the drop in position, the count of nations providing visa-free travel to Indians has actually increased over the last ten years.

For example, in 2014 – when the current administration's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed office – fifty-two nations provided visa-free travel to Indians and its passport ranked 76th in the ranking.

The following year, it tumbled to eighty-fifth place, then improved to 80th over the past two years, declining once more to the 85th position currently. At the same time, visa-free destinations for Indians increased from fifty-two eight years ago to 60 in 2023 and sixty-two this year.

Increasing Worldwide Travel Competition

The number of visa-free destinations this year (57) exceeds the number eight years ago (52), but India's rank for both these years remains at eighty-fifth. What explains this situation?

Analysts note that a primary factor involves growing competition in international travel – meaning countries are forming additional travel agreements for their populations' advantage and their economies. As per recent analysis, the global average count of countries people can visit without visas has nearly doubled from fifty-eight nineteen years ago to 109 in 2025.

For example, The Chinese passport has increased its count of visa-free countries available to its citizens from fifty to eighty-two over the last ten years. Consequently, its rank on the index has enhanced from 94th to 60th in that same duration.

Meanwhile, The Indian passport – previously positioned at seventy-seventh place in July – fell to the 85th position this autumn after losing access to two countries.

Additional Factors Affecting Passport Strength

A former Indian ambassador says multiple elements influencing a nation's passport power, including economic and political conditions as well as its openness to accepting travelers from abroad.

For instance, the US passport has dropped out from the top ten currently holding twelfth place – a historic low – because of its more inward-looking approach in world politics.

The former ambassador recalls that during the seventies, Indian citizens had visa-free travel to numerous European and Western nations, but that changed after the Sikh separatist movement during the eighties. Subsequent political upheavals have continued to damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.

"Numerous nations are also becoming increasingly wary regarding migrants," the diplomat added. "The country possesses a high number of citizens emigrating overseas or remaining beyond visa limits and that interferes with the country's reputation."

Factors such as the security level a country's passport is and immigration processes also play a role in gaining visa-free entry to other countries.

Security and Technological Improvements

India's passport faces ongoing security threats. Last year, law enforcement arrested 203 people for alleged visa and passport fraud. India is also known for cumbersome immigration procedures and a slow pace of visa processing.

The former ambassador says that new technologies, such as the newly introduced electronic passport or e-passport, can improve security and ease the immigration process. This electronic document contains a small chip that stores biometric data, making it harder to counterfeit or alter the document.

But, increased diplomatic efforts and travel partnerships continue essential to boosting international travel freedom for Indian citizens and, by extension, India's passport ranking.