FactCheck: Claim that India’s passport ranking fell from 76th in 2014 to 125th in 2026 is misleading

ByFactcheck India

September 27, 2026 #disinformation, #Factcheck_in, #FactCheckIndia, #Fake news, #fakecheck, #India, #misinformation, #passport, #passport ranking of india,#TruthXIndia

FactCheck India: Claim that India’s passport ranking fell from 76th in 2014 to 125th in 2026 is misleading

Claim: India’s passport ranking has declined from 76th in 2014 to 125th in 2026.

Verdict: Misleading

What is the claim?

A claim circulating on social media alleges that India’s passport ranking has deteriorated sharply, falling from 76th position in 2014 to 125th position in 2026. The claim was shared on X with a Hindi-language caption suggesting that the two rankings represent a direct comparison of India’s passport performance over the period. However, the two figures come from different passport-ranking systems, making a direct comparison misleading.

What did we find?

An investigation found that India is indeed ranked 125th in the latest Global Passport Index. The ranking is published by Global Citizen Solutions, which produces the Global Passport Index. The 125th position therefore reflects a genuine ranking in that particular index. However, the 76th position cited for 2014 comes from a different ranking system — the Henley Passport Index, published by Henley & Partners. Therefore, the viral claim combines figures from two separate indexes and presents them as though they were part of the same ranking series.

2014 में भारत ग्लोबल पासपोर्ट रैकिंग में 76वें नंबर पर था!
12 साल की नरेंद्र मोदी की 18-18 घंटे की मेहनत के बाद अब 125वें स्थान पर पहुंच गया है, यह भी सुधार है… पिछले साल तो 149वें नंबर पर था! pic.twitter.com/ITvFRKVomp
— Vishal JyotiDev Agarwal 🇮🇳 (@JyotiDevSpeaks) July 5, 2026

What does the Henley Passport Index show?

According to information published by Henley Global, India’s passport was ranked 76th in the Henley Passport Index in 2014. The same index places India at 80th position in its 2026 ranking. This means that when the 2014 and 2026 figures are examined within the same Henley Passport Index, the comparison is substantially different from the one presented in the viral claim. The 125th position belongs to the Global Passport Index and should not be treated as India’s 2026 position in the Henley ranking.

Why the comparison is misleading

Passport indexes can use different methodologies, criteria and scoring systems to assess the strength or mobility of passports. Their rankings are therefore not interchangeable.

In this case:

76th in 2014 — Henley Passport Index
80th in 2026 — Henley Passport Index
125th in 2026 — Global Passport Index

The viral claim takes the 2014 Henley ranking and compares it with the 2026 Global Passport Index ranking, without identifying that the figures come from different organizations. As a result, the comparison gives the impression of a dramatic decline within a single ranking system when the cited figures do not represent the same index.

Conclusion

India’s passport is ranked 125th in the latest Global Passport Index, while the Henley Passport Index places it at 80th in 2026. The 76th position in 2014 also comes from the Henley Passport Index. Since the 125th position comes from a different organization and ranking methodology, the two figures cannot be directly compared to measure India’s change in passport ranking over time. Misleading. The viral claim compares India’s 2014 Henley Passport Index ranking of 76th with its 2026 Global Passport Index ranking of 125th as though they came from the same ranking system. The Henley Index itself places India at 80th in 2026, making the viral comparison inaccurate.