HEAD TO HEAD
India vs United States
Verdict
United States holds a 86–14 advantage over India on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by nuclear warheads (97% of the combined total, 5.2k) and military spending (91% of the combined total, $954bn). India leads on active personnel.
Factor by factor
| Factor | India | Share | United States | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $92.1bn | 9%91% | $954bn | 25% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $3.9tn | 12%88% | $28.8tn | 20% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 1.5m | 52%48% | 1.4m | 15% |
Nuclear warheads FAS Nuclear Notebook | 180 | 3%97% | 5.2k | 25% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 146 | 8%92% | 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.
