HEAD TO HEAD
Afghanistan vs Pakistan
Verdict
Pakistan holds a 92–8 advantage over Afghanistan on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (98% of the combined total, $11.9bn) and economic size (GDP) (96% of the combined total, $372bn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side. Those factors are excluded and the remaining weights renormalised, never substituted.
Factor by factor
| Factor | Afghanistan | Share | Pakistan | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $278m | 2%98% | $11.9bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $17.2bn | 4%96% | $372bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 100.0k | 13%87% | 652.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 9 | 18%82% | 41 | 20% |
Shares are each side's portion of the combined total for that factor. Weights are renormalised across the factors both sides publish — see the methodology. Data read 2026-10-22.
