HEAD TO HEAD
South Korea vs Thailand
Verdict
South Korea holds a 70–30 advantage over Thailand on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (89% of the combined total, $47.8bn) and economic size (GDP) (78% of the combined total, $1.9tn). Thailand leads on 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1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | South Korea | Share | Thailand | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $47.8bn | 89%11% | $6.0bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $1.9tn | 78%22% | $527bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 555.0k | 61%39% | 361.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 38 | 37%63% | 64 | 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.
