Arton Capital, a financial advisory firm, recently released a passport index that sorts passports of 199 countries and regions by their "power." The ranking was created by calculating how many countries and regions passport holders can visit without a visa, or by obtaining a visa on arrival.

Visa requirements depend to some degree on international relations. Most countries require non-nationals to obtain visas before entering their territory, but the requirements vary to a great extent. Countries that are allies often grant each others' citizens visas on arrival while countries that are not so closely related ask visitors to provide much detailed information.

Passports from the United States and United Kingdom topped the ranking, enabling their citizens to travel to 147 countries and regions without getting a visa in advance.

France shared the second place with South Korea and Germany, allowing access to 145 countries and regions without an advance visa.

Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland rank 11th and 45th respectively.

The least "powerful" passports on the ranking are those of South Sudan, the Solomon Islands, the Palestinian Territories, Sao Tome and Principe and Myanmar. They tied for the 80th spot, giving access to only 28 countries and regions each without an advance visa.

Here are the top 13 "most powerful" passports in the world:

 Netherlands

Passport of Netherlands

Passport power rank: 4

Number of countries and regions granting access without obtaining a visa in advance: 143