HEAD TO HEAD
Iraq vs Syria
Verdict
Iraq holds a 75–25 advantage over Syria on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by economic size (GDP) (92% of the combined total, $280bn) and military spending (72% of the combined total, $6.4bn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Syria | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $6.4bn | 72%28% | $2.5bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $280bn | 92%8% | $23.6bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 193.0k | 53%47% | 169.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 36 | 78%22% | 10 | 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.
