HEAD TO HEAD

Germany vs United States

Verdict

United States holds a 89–11 advantage over Germany on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.

The margin is driven by military spending (89% of the combined total, $954bn) and economic size (GDP) (86% of the combined total, $28.8tn).

1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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

FactorGermanyShareUnited StatesWeight
Military spending
SIPRI Milex
$114bn
11%89%
$954bn33%
Economic size (GDP)
World Bank WDI
$4.7tn
14%86%
$28.8tn27%
Active personnel
COW NMC
183.0k
12%88%
1.4m20%
Logistics & power projection
OurAirports
100
6%94%
1.6k20%

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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