This is a silly metric, it weights every country the same. Any other weight would work better (population, GDP, etc)

The score seems to be based on the number of countries you can enter without a visa. This is pretty meaningless as countries like St. Kitts and Nevis (Caribbean, population 47,000) and China are treated as the same.

huh... I thought the most powerful passport was the German.

It's going to get worse, I'd imagine, as more Americans double down on 2nd citizenship, permanent residencies. As the US becomes more unstable, the risk of overstaying is going to increase. Countries will start yanking visa free entry as the US falls apart.

What change in visa policies have driven the change in rank? Have any countries switched on visa requirements for US passports? Or are other countries switching off visa requirements?

Leaving aside the ranking this article itself employs, it does seem to track. I will arbitrarily and qualitatively try and touch on some perceived benefits of a US passport / citizenship that seem to be falling:

- Visaless entry

- Ability to skip lines or fast track through immigration

- Embassy services

- Marriage prospect: Often US citizens were desirable or at least neutral partners for international relationships. Foreign nationals considered the option of relocating to America favorably. A partner may not want to relocate to the US now, or want a relationship with an American.

- General disapproval of Americans abroad in some countries

- Likelihood the government would intervene on your behalf. Brittney Griner / Travis King.

The Trump government does not seem as capable at governing. The Democrats seem to be be better at governing and favor bureaucracy more, whether this is true or perceived, I will not claim to know. The government itself is not funded/shut down currently which may impact embassies and clerical services. There does seem to be a general dislike of America and frustration building in many populations and presumably governments. The standing of America has greatly fallen in the world. While hostilities seem to be rising, America's ability to project soft and real power seem to be falling. This can impact some of the points above.

I am sure there are other points I have missed and factors I have overlooked. I would say that the general perception of the "strength" of a passport has fallen.

> Prof. Peter J. Spiro of Temple University Law School in Philadelphia says while US citizenship remains a valuable status, it’s no longer good enough as a standalone. “In coming years, more Americans will be acquiring additional citizenships in whatever way they can. Multiple citizenship is being normalized in American society. While it may be a bit of an exaggeration, as one social media poster recently put it, “dual citizenship is the new American dream”.

What nonsense is this? It's really frickin' hard for a normal person to acquire additional citizenships, and I think the easy "citizenship by decent" options that some Americans had access to are closing. There's no way the requisite long foreign residencies is becoming "normalized" in American society.

Maybe Prof. Peter J. Spiro only hangs out with very rich people who can buy some citizenships through investment, but if he does he should refrain on commenting on what's "normalized" because he needs to touch grass.

> the Henley Passport Index [...] includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations

How come there are more destinations than passports?

Given the recent changes to American policy I know people with American passports who are worried they can't even go back into the United States.