CONFLICTIQ
HEAD TO HEAD

South Africa vs Zimbabwe

South Africa
88%
RAI
Zimbabwe
12%

Verdict

South Africa holds a 88–12 advantage over Zimbabwe on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.

The margin is driven by military spending (95% of the combined total, $3.2bn) and economic size (GDP) (91% 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1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 by factor

FactorSouth AfricaShareZimbabweWeight
Military spending
SIPRI Milex
$3.2bn
95%5%
$160m33%
Economic size (GDP)
World Bank WDI
$401bn
91%9%
$41.5bn27%
Active personnel
COW NMC
74.0k
72%28%
29.0k20%
Logistics & power projection
OurAirports
70
89%11%
920%

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.

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Neighbour rivalries (473)

Bordering states — the comparisons people actually search for.

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Sts. v PalauMicronesia, Fed. 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