News Desk
The Maldives passport continues to be the strongest in South Asia, ranking 49th globally on the Henley Passport Index as of May 2026, giving its holders visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 92 destinations worldwide.
The ranking, shared with Timor-Leste, marks the seventh consecutive year the Maldives has held the top position in the region. No other South Asian country comes close. India ranks 77th with access to 56 destinations. Bhutan sits at 85th with 50, Sri Lanka at 93rd with 39, Bangladesh at 95th with 37, Nepal at 96th with 35, and Pakistan at 100th with access to just 30 countries.
The gap reflects more than geography. The Maldives has built a broad network of diplomatic ties over decades, partly through its role in multilateral forums and its standing as a tourism-dependent economy that has actively pursued open travel arrangements. For a country of roughly 500,000 people, the passport punches well above its weight.
That said, the Maldives still trails its Indian Ocean neighbours that have pushed harder on visa liberalisation. Seychelles ranks 22nd with access to more than 140 destinations. Mauritius sits at 25th with a similarly wide reach. Both offer a reference point for what further diplomatic outreach could achieve for Maldivian passport holders.
For now, the distance between Male’ and the rest of South Asia on this measure remains one of the more striking examples of the Maldives carving out a distinct international standing, separate from the regional bloc it geographically belongs to.
