India ranks 125th in Global Passport Index 2026, slips one spot from last year
New Delhi (Raghwendra Pratap Singh) : The Indian passport ranked 125th in the fifth annual edition of the Global Passport Index (GPI), published by residency and citizenship advisory firm Global Citizen Solutions (GCS), slipping one position from its overall ranking in 2025 and moving up by just two places over the past five years.
Namibia ranked just above India at the 124th spot, while Azerbaijan ranked one spot below India at the 126th spot. Unlike many passport rankings that mainly measure visa-free travel, the Global Passport Index assesses the overall strength of a passport by considering factors such as global mobility, investment potential and quality of life.
According to the fifth edition of the Global Passport Index, India was ranked 125th among 197 countries. The country slipped from 124th place in 2025 but improved from 127th in 2021. Its composite score also reached a five-year high of 45.1. The report says that the Indian passport offers visa-free access to 26 countries.
Indian passport holders can travel visa-free or obtain a visa on arrival in destinations including Bhutan, Jamaica, Macau, Nepal, Palestine, Tunisia, Angola and Barbados. However, Indian citizens still need a visa to visit around 88 destinations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Andorra and the United Arab Emirates.
What is Global Passport Index?
The latest Global Passport Index report ranks passports not only on the ease of international travel but also on the benefits they offer for living, working and investing in other countries.Rather than ranking passports only by travel freedom, the Global Passport Index measures them across three key categories: Enhanced Mobility (50 per cent), Investment (25 per cent) and Quality of Living (25 per cent). These are based on 14 separate indicators.
