Croatian passport ranks among the world’s strongest today, outperforming the US one and highlighting the significant growth in international mobility for Croatian citizens over the past fifteen years.
Croatian passport holds the seventh position on the Henley Passport Index with 184 points, allowing visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 184 destinations.
It shares this spot with Australia, Czech Republic, Estonia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
The United States ranks eleventh with 180 points, while Canada follows just behind Croatia.
Singapore leads first with 193 points, thanks to strong diplomatic ties and economic power enabling near-global visa-free access.
South Korea is second with 190 destinations, followed by Japan in third with 189 points.
From fourth to sixth place, 21 European countries and New Zealand dominate, confirming Europe’s lead at the top.
Among neighboring countries ahead of Croatia are Slovenia and Hungary, sharing sixth place with one more point.
Serbia ranks 35th with 137 points, Montenegro 41st with 129, and Bosnia and Herzegovina 45th with 123 points.
Afghanistan sits at the bottom with just 24 points, alongside Yemen, Iraq, and Syria near the end.
When the Henley Passport Index began in 2006, the Croatian passport was much weaker, hovering around 35th–40th place in the third or fourth decade of the global ranking.
Croatia’s EU entry in 2013 opened doors to more visa-free regimes and marked the start of rapid strengthening.
By 2016, Croatia climbed to 24th, and in 2018 reached a then-record 16th place with access to 169 countries visa-free or on arrival.
During the pandemic around 2020, it saw a slight drop or stagnation near 20th place, though visa-free destinations didn’t drop much; from 2021–2023, it stayed between 17th and 18th.
The key leap came in early 2023 with Schengen Area and eurozone entry, propelling Croatia into the top 15 in 2024 and first into the “top 10” in 2025 at seventh with over 180 visa-free destinations.
The Henley Passport Index, based on IATA data and updated quarterly for visa-free or on-arrival destinations, serves as the global standard for measuring freedom of movement, not quality of life or economic standards.
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