HEAD TO HEAD

United States vs Vietnam

Verdict

United States holds a 94–6 advantage over Vietnam on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.

The margin is driven by military spending (99% of the combined total, $954bn) and economic size (GDP) (98% of the combined total, $28.8tn).

1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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

FactorUnited StatesShareVietnamWeight
Military spending
SIPRI Milex
$954bn
99%1%
$10.5bn33%
Economic size (GDP)
World Bank WDI
$28.8tn
98%2%
$476bn27%
Active personnel
COW NMC
1.4m
74%26%
482.0k20%
Logistics & power projection
OurAirports
1.6k
98%2%
3820%

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.

Related comparisons