HEAD TO HEAD
Iran vs Japan
Verdict
Japan holds a 75–25 advantage over Iran on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (89% of the combined total, $62.2bn) and economic size (GDP) (89% of the combined total, $4.0tn). Iran 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1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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
| Factor | Iran | Share | Japan | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $7.4bn | 11%89% | $62.2bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $475bn | 11%89% | $4.0tn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 610.0k | 71%29% | 247.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 76 | 22%78% | 270 | 20% |
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.
