HEAD TO HEAD
Nicaragua vs Panama
Verdict
Nicaragua holds a 62–38 advantage over Panama on the Relative Advantage Index, a clear margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (100% of the combined total, $116m) and active personnel (100% of the combined total, 12.0k). Panama leads on economic size (GDP) and logistics & power projection.
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Nicaragua | Share | Panama | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $116m | 100%0% | $0 | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $19.7bn | 19%81% | $86.5bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 12.0k | 100%0% | 0 | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 3 | 19%81% | 13 | 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.
