The UAE has claimed the number one spot on the 2026 Passport Index, overtaking Singapore and Malaysia, which now share second place. Announced via the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the ranking gives Emirati citizens a mobility score of 182 — meaning visa-free access to 138 destinations and simplified entry arrangements to 44 more. That's a seven-destination lead over the countries tied in second.

The rest of the top five reads like a familiar roll call of strong passports: Spain sits alone in third, while France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Japan are bunched together in fourth. South Korea and Hungary round out fifth place. Further down, the UK and New Zealand rank eighth, with Australia and the United States in tenth.

So how does the Index work? Compiled in real time by Arton Capital, it scores passports from all 193 UN member states plus six additional territories — 199 in total. Points are awarded for destinations that can be reached without applying for a visa, permit or electronic travel authorisation in advance. In other words, the fewer hurdles between a passport and an airport gate, the higher the score.

What makes the UAE's win notable is the pace of its climb. Just under two decades ago the Emirati passport sat at number 62 in the world. Rising to the top in that time reflects deliberate diplomatic work — bilateral visa-waiver agreements, a widening economic footprint, and growing international trust in the country's documents.

Why should travellers care? If you hold an Emirati passport, the practical upshot is simple: 182 destinations are now open to you with minimal paperwork, which makes spontaneous trips far easier to book. For everyone else, the ranking is a useful annual temperature check on where visa policies are loosening — and it signals that the UAE is pushing hard on open travel corridors, which often flows through to smoother transit and entry for visitors heading to Dubai and Abu Dhabi too.

The wider story is one of mobility becoming a marker of national standing. As countries compete for tourists, business travellers and investment, passport power has become a scoreboard for geopolitical reach — and right now, no one scores higher than the UAE.