According to the Henley Passport Index by the British consulting firm specialized in immigration matters Henley & Partners, Latin American passports are outside the top 40 ranking passports based on the number of countries that they can travel to without the need to request a prior visa. The American passport is tied for 24th.

The report, based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and which references 199 passports from around the world and 227 different travel destinations, indicates that citizens who hold a U.S. passport can travel to 189 countries without needing to apply for a prior visa.

Henley Passport Index 2024 ... by Santiago Adolfo Ospital

Among Latin American countries, the one with the most benefits is Chile, whose holders can travel to 177 countries; followed by Argentina (174); Mexico (161); Uruguay (156). Further behind are Costa Rica (152), Panama (149), Paraguay (145), Peru (141), El Salvador (137), Guatemala (137), Colombia (135), Honduras (134) and Nicaragua (130). The last among the passports of Latin American countries is Cuba, which allows travel to 64 countries without a prior visa.

Four European and two Asian countries lead the list

Aside from the strength of the U.S. and Latin American passports, the Henley & Partners report detailed that six passports are tied for first place. Four of them European and the other two Asian: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain. All of them allow their holders to travel to 194 countries without having to apply for a visa.

Behind them are Austria, Finland, the Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea and Sweden (193 countries each); and Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom (192).