CONFLICTIQ
HEAD TO HEAD

Saudi Arabia vs United Arab Emirates

Saudi Arabia
74%
RAI
United Arab Emirates
26%

Verdict

Saudi Arabia holds a 74–26 advantage over United Arab Emirates on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.

The margin is driven by military spending (79% of the combined total, $83.2bn) and economic size (GDP) (69% of the combined total, $1.2tn).

1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 by factor

FactorSaudi ArabiaShareUnited Arab EmiratesWeight
Military spending
SIPRI Milex
$83.2bn
79%21%
$22.8bn33%
Economic size (GDP)
World Bank WDI
$1.2tn
69%31%
$552bn27%
Active personnel
COW NMC
257.0k
76%24%
83.0k20%
Logistics & power projection
OurAirports
50
70%30%
2120%

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.

Full Saudi Arabia dossier →Full United Arab Emirates dossier →Run a war game →

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