HEAD TO HEAD
South Africa vs Zimbabwe
Verdict
South Africa holds a 88–12 advantage over Zimbabwe on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (95% of the combined total, $3.2bn) and economic size (GDP) (91% of the combined total, $401bn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | South Africa | Share | Zimbabwe | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $3.2bn | 95%5% | $160m | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $401bn | 91%9% | $41.5bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 74.0k | 72%28% | 29.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 70 | 89%11% | 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.
