HEAD TO HEAD
Iran vs United Arab Emirates
Verdict
Iran holds a 54–46 advantage over United Arab Emirates on the Relative Advantage Index.
The margin is driven by active personnel (88% of the combined total, 610.0k) and logistics & power projection (78% of the combined total, 76). United Arab Emirates leads on military spending and economic size (GDP).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | United Arab Emirates | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $7.4bn | 25%75% | $22.8bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $475bn | 46%54% | $552bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 610.0k | 88%12% | 83.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 76 | 78%22% | 21 | 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.
