South Africa holds a 86–14 advantage over Mozambique on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (87% of the combined total, $3.2bn) and economic size (GDP) (95% of the combined total, $401bn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Mozambique | Share | South Africa | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $468m | 13%87% | $3.2bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $22.7bn | 5%95% | $401bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 11.0k | 13%87% | 74.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 27 | 28%72% | 70 | 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.