HEAD TO HEAD
Australia vs Iran
Verdict
Australia holds a 65–35 advantage over Iran on the Relative Advantage Index, a clear margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (83% of the combined total, $35.3bn) and economic size (GDP) (79% of the combined total, $1.8tn). Iran leads on active personnel.
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Australia | Share | Iran | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $35.3bn | 83%17% | $7.4bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $1.8tn | 79%21% | $475bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 60.0k | 9%91% | 610.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 213 | 74%26% | 76 | 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.
