Comparisons are obnoxious, but we are surrounded by numbers, indices and measurements that make comparison unresolvable. We know which countries have the most billionaires, the size of the great powers’ militaries, or any data on nuclear weapons. And there are those who prepared the list of the most powerful countries of 2024 with all these statistics.

And you can see them perfectly in this chart from Visual Capitalist.

Powerful countries? The data is taken from Ray Dalio’s latest ‘Great Powers’ report for 2024 and thanks to reports like PISA or PISA, different indicators such as GDP, participation in world trade, education levels are weighted. military power. Health levels are also measured by life expectancy, infant mortality rate, or chronic diseases; Happiness levels thanks to happiness surveys, life satisfaction or suicide rate.

Another important issue is the real growth perspective for the next 10 years. All of this, as we said, is weighted and is what allows Ray Dalio to create his power index.

TOP 3. The truth is that we do not encounter any surprises if we take into account that the USA and China will be at the top and the Eurozone will also be at the top. However, what is interesting is not the ranking of the countries, but the power indices (parameters such as economic production, military power, trade are taken into account) compared to the power per capita.

This index reflects the productivity of a country in relation to its population, and we leave you the table of the 24 countries in the report below:

Always USA vs China. The United States remains the main superpower, and this is contributed by both its military might and, above all, the dollar’s influence on markets and technological dominance. It is interesting to relate this chart to the one we shared a few days ago, where we see an excellent view of the power of today’s most relevant unicorns. China has ByteDance, but the rest of the list was monopolized by the US.

Speaking of China, it is the world’s largest exporter. Despite tariffs from different countries, the Asian giant is moving to acquire new allies such as African countries and Mexico, which can serve as gateways to the United States. It is also making enemies around the world with its increasingly tight control over some of its activities, industries and rare earth elements. And above all, because of the fear of military development in all spheres: land, air, sea and… nuclear.

US risks. Beyond the chart, we see in Dalio’s report that not all of the space is covered in the most powerful countries. The United States, for example, is in an unfavorable position in terms of its economic and fiscal cycle, with a high debt burden and a relatively low growth rate for the next 10 years (1.4% per year). Additionally, there are high-risk elements both within and outside its borders due to the social situation and the perception of other countries.

What is interesting is that the negative perception towards China has increased from 45% in the 2018 indices to 83% today; this is a result of recent movements in both countries (and we, at Xataka, take into account the whole issue of technological warfare between China and China). forces.

And the situation in China. There is also the other side of the coin in this complex geopolitical relationship. China is in the opposite economic situation to the US, with a moderate debt burden and 4% annual growth over the next 10 years. Disorder within its borders is not a risk because (and it is appropriate to nuance the reports here) “as far as we know, the capacity of the population to express its opinions is limited compared to most countries.”

International risk is another story and is considered “high”. The report addresses this open, multi-front conflict between the United States and China; This conflict concerns not only the chip industry but also energy or the trendy topic of tariffs on electric cars. But there are also actions taken by China in seas and areas it considers its own, such as the border with Taiwan or India.

Spain. Okay, but… what about the Spanish-speaking countries on the list? Spain, Mexico and Argentina are in the lower 24 in the Dalio report. Spain, like other Western countries, is in a complex position in terms of the economic cycle, with moderately high debt and very slow growth expected for the next 10 years. There is no risk from outside, and of course, the internal risk is low, despite the social conflicts that we, living in the country, perceive more.

Mexican. Compared to GDP, Spain’s power is weak; This is something radically different from what is shown for Mexico with very consistent data. The economy is on a positive curve, with moderate annual growth of 2.5% for the next 10 years, but domestic problems such as economic inequality in the population are also highlighted. But the real problem is the significant presence of organized crime, which can be seen in many Mexican companies and can even interfere with plans such as railway expansion.

Argentina. According to data compiled by the report, the situation of violence against violence in GDP is similar between Spain and Argentina. While it was noted that the economic situation was negative and an annual growth rate of 2 percent was expected in the next 10 years, it was noted that the income of the richest people increased by 2 percent and the income of the richest people increased by 2 percent in the last 10 years. The poor also grew at the same rate. This is far from good news, as inflation takes into account the economic capacity of the majority and this can lead to internal risks due to inequality.

Finally, the data in the report is taken from economic sources such as Reuters or Bloomberg, international indicators and studies, internal survey centers and different World Bank indices. Therefore, they may change from time to time, but this representation of the most powerful countries in 2024 is very interesting.

in Xataka | The countries that contribute the most troops and money to the UN in the world are gathered in an explanatory graphic