Tanzania holds a 82–18 advantage over Malawi on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (86% of the combined total, $1.0bn) and economic size (GDP) (87% of the combined total, $78.8bn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Malawi | Share | Tanzania | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $163m | 14%86% | $1.0bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $11.3bn | 13%87% | $78.8bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 11.0k | 29%71% | 27.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 5 | 20%80% | 20 | 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.