Cambodia holds a 80–20 advantage over Laos on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (97% of the combined total, $739m) and economic size (GDP) (74% of the combined total, $46.4bn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Cambodia | Share | Laos | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $739m | 97%3% | $22.8m | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $46.4bn | 74%26% | $16.5bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 124.0k | 81%19% | 29.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 9 | 60%40% | 6 | 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 2026-08-04.
Every combination inside the top 30 of the Composite Power Index.
Bordering states — the comparisons people actually search for.