HEAD TO HEAD
Iran vs North Korea
Verdict
Iran holds a 66–34 advantage over North Korea on the Relative Advantage Index, a clear margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (82% of the combined total, $7.4bn) and logistics & power projection (74% of the combined total, 76). North Korea leads on active personnel.
2 factors — economic size (GDP), nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | North Korea | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $7.4bn | 82%18% | $1.6bn | 45% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 610.0k | 32%68% | 1.3m | 27% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 76 | 74%26% | 27 | 27% |
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.
