Colombia holds a 97–3 advantage over Nicaragua on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (99% of the combined total, $14.5bn) and economic size (GDP) (96% of the combined total, $419bn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Colombia | Share | Nicaragua | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $14.5bn | 99%1% | $116m | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $419bn | 96%4% | $19.7bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 256.0k | 96%4% | 12.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 66 | 96%4% | 3 | 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.