India’s passport ranking has not experienced a sharp decline from 85 in 2024 to 148 in 2025 in Nomad Index; viral post is misleading
A post claiming that India’s passport ranking has dropped to 148 in 2025 is being widely circulated on social media platforms (here, here, and here). The post also lists India’s passport rankings from 2014 to 2025. According to the post, the rankings were as follows: 76 in 2014, 88 in 2015, 85 in 2016, 87 in 2017, 81 in 2018, 86 in 2019, 82 in 2020, 85 in 2021, 83 in 2022, 80 in 2023, 85 in 2024, followed by a sharp decline to 148 in 2025.
Claim: India’s passport ranking declined from 85 in 2024 to 148 in 2025.
Fact: India’s passport ranking has not experienced a sharp decline from 85 in 2024 to 148 in 2025, as claimed in the viral post. According to the Henley Passport Index, India was ranked 80th in 2024 and 82nd in 2025 (as of July 2025). In previous years, India’s rankings were: 76th in 2014, 88th in 2015, 85th in 2016, 87th in 2017, 81st in 2018, 82nd in 2019, 82nd in 2020, 90th in 2021, 83rd in 2022, and 84th in 2023. Meanwhile, the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index placed India at 147th in 2024 and 148th in 2025. Earlier rankings in this index were: 160th in 2017, 176th in 2018, 157th in 2019, 164th in both 2020 and 2021, 162nd in 2022, and 159th in 2023. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Upon conducting a relevant keyword search, we found that most of the data in the viral post appears to have been taken from various editions of the Henley Passport Index. However, according to the 2025 Henley Passport Index, India ranks 82nd, not 148th, as claimed in the post. During this search, we also found that the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index 2025 ranks India 148th out of 199 countries.
We then visited the official website of Henley & Partners, the organisation that publishes the Henley Passport Index. According to the website, the Henley Passport Index is based on data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is supplemented, enhanced, and updated using extensive in-house research and open-source online data. The index covers 199 different passports and 227 travel destinations, and it is updated monthly. The Henley Passport Index rankings are based on the number of destinations a passport holder can access without requiring a prior visa.
We also reviewed various Henley Passport Index rankings published from 2006 to 2025. According to the data available on the website, India ranked: 71 in 2006, 73 in 2007, 75 in 2009, 78 in 2011, 82 in 2012, 74 in 2013, 76 in 2014, 88 in 2015, 85 in 2016, 87 in 2017, 81 in 2018, 82 in 2019, 82 in 2020, 90 in 2021, 83 in 2022, 84 in 2023, 80 in 2024, and 82 in 2025. It is worth noting that this data reflects yearly rankings, whereas the Henley Passport Index is typically updated quarterly.
We then visited the official website of Nomad Capitalist, which publishes the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index. According to the website, the index was launched in 2017 and ranks passports not only based on visa-free travel, but also considers factors such as international taxation laws, global perception, dual citizenship, and personal freedom.
We reviewed various editions of the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index from 2017 to 2025. According to the data available on the website, India ranked: 160th in 2017, 176th in 2018, 157th in 2019, 164th in both 2020 and 2021, 162nd in 2022, 159th in 2023, 147th in 2024, and 148th in 2025.
Based on this information, it is evident that India’s passport ranking has not experienced a sharp decline from 85 in 2024 to 148 in 2025, as claimed in the viral post. According to the Henley Passport Index, India was ranked 80th in 2024 and 82nd in 2025 (as of July 2025). Meanwhile, the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index ranked India 147th in 2024 and 148th in 2025.
Below is a comparison table showing India’s passport rankings across various years, as per the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index, the Henley Passport Index (yearly), and the rankings mentioned in the viral post.
Apart from Nomad Capitalist and Henley & Partners, there are other entities such as Arton Capital, which publishes the Arton Capital Passport Index (ACPI) annually. This index provides global rankings of passports based on the “visa-free” status granted to the passport holders of a specific country.
When the Henley Passport Index was released in January 2025, India’s ranking dropped to 85th from 80th in the 2024 edition. In February 2025, a Member of Parliament raised a question in the Lok Sabha regarding India’s ranking in the Henley Passport Index 2025. In response, the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, stated: ” There are certain private institutions, which publish such ratings based on parameters decided by them (These ratings are given by certain private institutions, which publish rankings based on parameters determined by them). However, there is no widely accepted global standard for ranking passports, due to the absence of universally accepted criteria. The Government of India has been continuously making efforts to increase the number of countries that offer visa-free travel, visa-on-arrival, and e-Visa facilities to Indian citizens, to ease international travel. As of now, 26 countries offer visa-free entry, 40 countries offer visa-on-arrival facilities, and 58 countries offer e-Visa facilities to Indian passport holders. The details of these are regularly updated by the Ministry on its official website, which can be accessed at the following link: https://www.mea.gov.in/VFFIN.htm.”
According to the Ministry of External Affairs website, as of 08 July 2025, 25 countries offer visa-free entry, 39 countries offer visa-on-arrival facilities, and 63 countries offer e-Visa facilities to Indian passport holders.
To sum it up, India’s passport ranking has not experienced a sharp decline from 85 in 2024 to 148 in 2025, as claimed in the viral post.