HEAD TO HEAD
North Korea vs United Kingdom
Verdict
United Kingdom holds a 75–25 advantage over North Korea on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (98% of the combined total, $89.0bn) and nuclear warheads (82% of the combined total, 225). North Korea leads on active personnel.
1 factor — economic size (GDP) — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | North Korea | Share | United Kingdom | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $1.6bn | 2%98% | $89.0bn | 31% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 1.3m | 90%10% | 150.0k | 19% |
Nuclear warheads FAS Nuclear Notebook | 50 | 18%82% | 225 | 31% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 27 | 9%91% | 272 | 19% |
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.
