HEAD TO HEAD
China vs Pakistan
Verdict
China holds a 88–12 advantage over Pakistan on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (97% of the combined total, $336bn) and economic size (GDP) (98% of the combined total, $18.7tn).
Factor by factor
| Factor | China | Share | Pakistan | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $336bn | 97%3% | $11.9bn | 25% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $18.7tn | 98%2% | $372bn | 20% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 2.0m | 76%24% | 652.0k | 15% |
Nuclear warheads FAS Nuclear Notebook | 600 | 78%22% | 170 | 25% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 402 | 91%9% | 41 | 15% |
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.
