United Kingdom holds a 61–39 advantage over South Korea on the Relative Advantage Index, a clear margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (65% of the combined total, $89.0bn) and economic size (GDP) (66% of the combined total, $3.7tn). South Korea leads on active personnel.
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | South Korea | Share | United Kingdom | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $47.8bn | 35%65% | $89.0bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $1.9tn | 34%66% | $3.7tn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 555.0k | 79%21% | 150.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 38 | 12%88% | 272 | 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.