HEAD TO HEAD
Iran vs Pakistan
Verdict
Iran and Pakistan are close to evenly matched, 50–50 on the Relative Advantage Index.
Iran leads on economic size (GDP) (56% of the combined total, $475bn) and logistics & power projection (65% of the combined total, 76), which Pakistan offsets elsewhere.
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Pakistan | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $7.4bn | 38%62% | $11.9bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $475bn | 56%44% | $372bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 610.0k | 48%52% | 652.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 76 | 65%35% | 41 | 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.
