HEAD TO HEAD
Iraq vs Kuwait
Verdict
Iraq holds a 66–34 advantage over Kuwait on the Relative Advantage Index, a clear margin.
The margin is driven by active personnel (91% of the combined total, 193.0k) and economic size (GDP) (64% of the combined total, $280bn). Kuwait leads on military spending.
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Iraq | Share | Kuwait | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $6.4bn | 44%56% | $8.1bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $280bn | 64%36% | $160bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 193.0k | 91%9% | 18.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 36 | 80%20% | 9 | 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.
