Italy holds a 99–1 advantage over Malta on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (100% of the combined total, $48.1bn) and economic size (GDP) (99% of the combined total, $2.4tn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Italy | Share | Malta | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $48.1bn | 100%0% | $125m | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $2.4tn | 99%1% | $25.0bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 161.0k | 99%1% | 2.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 152 | 98%2% | 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.