The most powerful countries of 2024 brought together in a revealing graph

Comparisons are disgusting, but we are surrounded by statistics, indices and metrics that make comparisons unattainable. We know which countries have the most billionaires, the size of the armies of the major powers or all the data related to nuclear weapons, for example. And, with so many statistics, there are those who have prepared a list of the most powerful countries of 2024.

And you can see them in full force in this graph from Visual Capitalist.

powerful country? The data is extracted from the latest report of ‘The Great Powers’ by Ray Dalio in the 2024 edition and what has been done is to combine different indicators such as GDP, participation in world trade, educational level thanks to reports like PISA or Is. military power. Health levels are also measured by life expectancy, infant mortality or chronic diseases; And happiness levels are measured by happiness surveys, life satisfaction or suicide rates.

The real growth perspective for the next 10 years is also important. As we say, it’s all weighted and that’s what allows Ray Dalio to create his power index.

top 3In fact, this is not surprising if we take into account that while the United States and China were the ones to take the top positions, the Eurozone was also at the top. But what is interesting is that the ranking of countries is not so much to do with looking at their power index (parameters such as economic output, military strength and trade are taken into account) rather than their per capita power.

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

It’s always America vs ChinaThe United States remains the main superpower, thanks to both its military strength and, above all, its dollar influence and technological dominance in markets. It’s interesting to relate this graph to the one we shared a few days ago in which we looked at the absolute power of today’s most relevant unicorns. China owned ByteDance, but the rest of the list was monopolized by the United States.

Talking about China, it is the world’s largest exporter. Despite tariffs from various countries, the Asian giant is moving to make new allies, such as African countries and other countries like Mexico that can serve as gateways to the United States. It is also making enemies around the world because of its increasingly tight controls on some of its activities, industries and rare earths. And, above all, because of the fear of military development in all its spheres: land, air, naval and…nuclear.

American riskBeyond the graph, in Dalio’s report we can see that not all areas in the most powerful countries cultivate oregano. For example, the United States is in an unfavorable position in its economic and financial cycle, with a high debt burden and relatively low growth: 1.4% annually for the next 10 years. Furthermore, there are elements of higher risk due to the social conditions and perception of other countries, both inside and outside its borders.

Somewhat interestingly, the negative perception of China has increased from 45% in the indices in 2018 to 83% today, which is a result of recent movements in both countries (and at Xataka we are taking into account the whole issue of tech warfare ) Powers.

and China’s situationIn this complex geopolitical relationship, we also have the other side of the coin. China is in the opposite economic position to the United States due to a moderate debt burden and growth of 4% annually over the next 10 years. Within its borders, incarceration poses no risk because (and it is worth lending nuance to the reports here) “as far as we know, the ability for the population to express their views is limited compared to most countries.”

International risk is a different story and is considered “high”. The report points to this open, multi-front conflict between the United States and China, related not only to the chip industry, but also to energy or a trendy topic: tariffs on electric cars. But China is also taking actions in waters and areas it considers its property, such as Taiwan or the border with India.

spainOkay, but… what about the Spanish speaking countries on the list? Spain, Mexico and Argentina are in the bottom 24 in the Dalio report. Spain, as in other Western countries, is in a complex situation in terms of the economic cycle, with moderately high debt and very slow expected growth for the next 10 years. There are no external risks and despite social conflicts the internal risks are also less, obviously, those of us who live in the country understand this more.

MexicoSpain’s power compared to GDP is poor, which is completely different from the data shown for Mexico, with very aligned data. The economy shows a favorable curve, with moderate growth of 2.5% annually over the next 10 years, but internal problems such as economic inequality of the population have been pointed out. But the main problem is the notable presence of organized crime, something that can be seen in many Mexican companies and which can also interfere with plans such as rail expansion.

argentinaAccording to the data collected by the report, the situation of force Vs. GDP is similar between Spain and Argentina. It is noted that the economic situation is unfavorable, with 2% annual growth expected over the next 10 years, but it is noted that over the last 10 years, the income of the richest people has increased by 2%, while the most The income of rich people has increased by 2%. The poor grew at the same rate. This is something that is far from being good news, because if inflation is taken into account, an injury is seen to the economic potential of the majority, which could create internal risks due to this 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 various World Bank indices. And, therefore, at one time or another, they may change, but this representation of the most powerful countries in 2024 is the most interesting.

In Xataka The world countries that contribute the most troops and money to the United Nations, gathered in an illustrative graph