Both Nominal and PPP GDP are pretty irrelevant when comparing the US and china. As Juq has pointed out, china has over three times as many people as america.

The Relevant statistic is GDP per capita, in which the US is around 7x as rich as China, with $56K compared to around $8K.

That's another factor sure

Per capita is useless. A rich populace actually is worse at fighting wars and has to rely on mercenaries (see Qatar as an example).

Industries usable in wartime is what we are searching (heavy industry, IT, Chemistry, etc). The great mass of US secretary workers is totally useless for a war effort compared to the workers in Chinas insanely huge steel industry. But they earn a lot of money, well great....

Edited 6/4/2016 21:34:56

Technological advancement

Yeah, except the US is really the exception here since we spend more on our military than the next fourteen countries combined. There is no "reliance on mercenaries" going on here.

Edited 6/4/2016 21:36:01

@ Belgian Where we do not have any data (military is classified for obvious reasons). :(

Edited 6/4/2016 21:37:03

Global Presence Index is the best index I could find. It measures how powerfull a nation is.

The Relevant statistic is GDP per capita, in which the US is around 7x as rich as China, with $56K compared to around $8K.

I don't see how this would be relevant at all. Measuring GHP each head just shows how well-off the country is - is it a good country to live in? Which doesn't affect much the powers of the country.

Where we do not have any data (military is classified for obvious reasons). :(

Yeah, many folk think information (I mean, seriously, using the CIA as a source?) is much more open and frank than it really is. Know from who you get knowledge from.

Global Presence Index is the best index I could find.

Yeah, I think you showed us one time, and we all agreed it was pretty bad...I mean, Canada is more powerful than India? Get real.

Edited 6/4/2016 22:06:20

Nothing bad here. GBI is based on globalisation (meaning global presence) and economy. It would be a good indicator for political influence around the world.

Edited 6/4/2016 22:24:38

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)

Compare IMF data (since you like that more) with the CIA factbook data. See who's more patriotic now.

Yeah, many folk think information (I mean, seriously, using the CIA as a source?) is much more open and frank than it really is. Know from who you get knowledge from.

So just because a gouverment makes such lists the lists lose all their credibility?

GBI is based on globalisation (meaning global presence) and economy. It would be a good indicator for political influence around the world.

Canada is not more powerful than India, and any list that says it is clearly has something wrong. It's practically an axiom.

So just because a gouverment makes such lists the lists lose all their credibility?

It's a clear conflit of interest, and there are much better, intergovernmental (still not good, but better) sources which don't have such a big conflit.

You stated in your own ranking that you used 'wellbeing' as a factor. I tell you that Gdp/Capita is a good indicator for that wether you denied that in a previous statement or not.

CIA was not biased at all in the lists I showed... they gave China a higher number than the IMF did in comparison with the US. That gives me a pretty clear contradiction of what you've said.

Edited 6/4/2016 22:54:14

Yeah, as a pretty small factor, mainly to help determine the patriotism (which also was a smaller factor).

CIA undisputably has a conflit of interest - don't wield it. They'll deny being biased, but they are - they're funded by one government in particular in that list.

That's only according to your speculation which I trust less.

I would also take natural ressources into account.
For example an oil-rich country like Iraq is waayy too weak for the ressources it has.

Ok. We should better be loyal to some ground rules before it gets more complicated.

The 4 main factors are:

1) GDP
2) Population
3) Wealth (GDP/Capita)
4) Natural resources

No discussion.

Edited 6/5/2016 01:09:14

But yeah I may reconsider China to have the biggest income but the difference with the US will only be minimal.

You should probably also consider military/military industry.

Edited 6/5/2016 01:39:25

Industry is in the gdp. Military can be very opinion-based.

1. USA
2. China
3. Japan
4. Germany
5. UK
6. France
7. India
8. Italy
9. Brazil
10. Canada
11. South Korea
12. Russia
13. Australia
14. Spain
15. Mexico
16. Indonesia
17. Netherlands
18. Turkey
19. Switzerland
20. Saudi-Arabia