HEAD TO HEAD
China vs United States
Verdict
United States holds a 71–29 advantage over China on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by nuclear warheads (90% of the combined total, 5.2k) and military spending (74% of the combined total, $954bn). China leads on active personnel.
Factor by factor
| Factor | China | Share | United States | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $336bn | 26%74% | $954bn | 25% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $18.7tn | 39%61% | $28.8tn | 20% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 2.0m | 60%40% | 1.4m | 15% |
Nuclear warheads FAS Nuclear Notebook | 600 | 10%90% | 5.2k | 25% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 402 | 20%80% | 1.6k | 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.
