HEAD TO HEAD

Brazil vs Japan

Verdict

Japan holds a 61–39 advantage over Brazil on the Relative Advantage Index, a clear margin.

The margin is driven by military spending (72% of the combined total, $62.2bn) and economic size (GDP) (65% of the combined total, $4.0tn). Brazil 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1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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

FactorBrazilShareJapanWeight
Military spending
SIPRI Milex
$23.9bn
28%72%
$62.2bn33%
Economic size (GDP)
World Bank WDI
$2.2tn
35%65%
$4.0tn27%
Active personnel
COW NMC
367.0k
60%40%
247.0k20%
Logistics & power projection
OurAirports
183
40%60%
27020%

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.

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