How the index is built.
Framework
Economic power is a country's capacity to produce, trade, invest, generate energy, control water, connect its people and markets, hold natural capital and absorb shocks. The index measures that capacity across seven pillars and produces two scores: the HEF Power Score and the HEF Sustainable Power Score, which adjusts power for the ecological cost of producing it.
Scope
India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, each measured as a whole country. National statistics are used as published by each government and compiled by international sources. The index takes no position on disputed boundaries.
Data
No invented data. Every value carries its source, link and data year. The most recent release is used for each indicator; where a year is not yet published the latest observation is carried forward and its year is shown. Sources: IMF World Economic Outlook (GDP, government debt), World Bank World Development Indicators (trade, investment, connectivity, forest, protected land, reserves), Ember (electricity), FAO AQUASTAT (water), and the national utilities and statistics offices of Nepal and Bhutan for 2025 hydropower capacity and for electricity trade where Ember's series is incomplete.
Scoring
Each indicator is scored 0–100 against goalposts fixed in advance: on a logarithmic scale for quantities, so that a tenfold difference is a constant step; on a linear scale for ratios. Fixed goalposts make a score comparable across countries and across years, and stop a country being pinned to 0 or 100 by the others. Government debt is scored inversely.
Aggregation
A pillar score is the mean of the indicators available for that country; a missing indicator drops out rather than counting as zero. The Power Score is the equal-weight mean of the seven pillars. Per-person and growth measures are reported separately and do not enter the score, because power is capacity, not intensity.
Sustainable Power
HEF Sustainable Power Score = Power Score × (1 − λ × ecological cost), with λ = 0.5. Ecological cost is the mean of two measures on fixed goalposts: the rate of natural-forest loss (0 to 1% a year, from satellite monitoring) and the carbon intensity of output (0 to 0.6 kg CO₂ per international dollar of GDP).
Uncertainty
5,000 runs, each drawing pillar weights, the scaling method (fixed goalposts, min–max or rank), the aggregation rule (arithmetic or geometric), a random indicator exclusion, λ between 0.25 and 1.0, and measurement noise on every value. A rank is shown as a single number only when it holds in at least 90% of runs; otherwise the range is shown.
Indicators and goalposts
Each indicator, its pillar, the goalposts it is scored against and its source.
| Pillar | Indicator | Goalposts (0 → 100) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Weight | GDP, current US$ | 1×10^9 → 1×10^14 US$ (log) | IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2026 |
| Economic Weight | GDP at purchasing-power parity | 1×10^9 → 1×10^14 int'l $ (log) | IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2026 |
| Trade & Investment | Exports of goods and services | 1×10^8 → 1×10^13 US$ (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Trade & Investment | Foreign direct investment received (3-year average) | 1×10^6 → 1×10^12 US$ (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Trade & Investment | Foreign direct investment made abroad (3-year average) | 1×10^6 → 1×10^12 US$ (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Energy | Electricity generation | 1 → 20,000 TWh (log) | Ember yearly electricity data; NEA and DGPC for Nepal and Bhutan 2025 capacity; Bhutan trade statistics and BPC for Bhutan electricity trade from 2020 |
| Energy | Hydropower generation | 1 → 2,000 TWh (log) | Ember yearly electricity data; NEA and DGPC for Nepal and Bhutan 2025 capacity; Bhutan trade statistics and BPC for Bhutan electricity trade from 2020 |
| Energy | Installed hydropower capacity | 0.1 → 1,000 GW (log) | Ember yearly electricity data; NEA and DGPC for Nepal and Bhutan 2025 capacity; Bhutan trade statistics and BPC for Bhutan electricity trade from 2020 |
| Energy | Net electricity exports | -50 → 50 TWh (linear) | Ember yearly electricity data; NEA and DGPC for Nepal and Bhutan 2025 capacity; Bhutan trade statistics and BPC for Bhutan electricity trade from 2020 |
| Water | Renewable water resources | 10 → 10,000 km³/yr (log) | FAO AQUASTAT, renewable water resources by country |
| Water | Share of water originating at home | 0 → 100 % (linear) | FAO AQUASTAT, renewable water resources by country |
| Water | Water flowing to neighbours | 1 → 3,000 km³/yr (log) | FAO AQUASTAT, renewable water resources by country |
| Connectivity | Internet users | 100,000 → 2×10^9 people (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Connectivity | Air passengers carried | 100,000 → 1×10^9 passengers (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Connectivity | Rail network | 10 → 300,000 route-km (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Connectivity | Logistics Performance Index | 1 → 5 1–5 (linear) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Environment | Forest area | 1,000 → 1×10^7 km² (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Environment | Protected land | 1,000 → 1×10^7 km² (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Resilience | Foreign-exchange reserves incl. gold | 1×10^8 → 1×10^13 US$ (log) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Resilience | Reserves, months of imports | 0 → 24 months (linear) | World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Resilience | Government debt (lower is stronger) | 150 → 0 % of GDP (linear) | IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2026 |
Data years
The year of the figure behind each 2025 score. Where a year is not yet published, the latest observation is carried forward.
| Indicator | China | India | Pakistan | Nepal | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP, current US$ | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
| GDP at purchasing-power parity | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
| Exports of goods and services | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2024 |
| Foreign direct investment received (3-year average) | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
| Foreign direct investment made abroad (3-year average) | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | Not published |
| Electricity generation | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2024 | 2024 |
| Hydropower generation | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2024 | 2024 |
| Installed hydropower capacity | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
| Net electricity exports | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
| Renewable water resources | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 |
| Share of water originating at home | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 |
| Water flowing to neighbours | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 |
| Internet users | 2025 | 2025 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 |
| Air passengers carried | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 |
| Rail network | 2021 | 2021 | 2019 | Not published | 2025 |
| Logistics Performance Index | 2022 | 2022 | 2018 | 2018 | 2022 |
| Forest area | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
| Protected land | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
| Foreign-exchange reserves incl. gold | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
| Reserves, months of imports | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2024 |
| Government debt (lower is stronger) | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 |
What holds
Share of 5,000 tests in which one country ranks above another on the Power Score. 90% or more is treated as settled.
| China ranks above India | 100% | Settled |
| China ranks above Pakistan | 100% | Settled |
| China ranks above Nepal | 100% | Settled |
| China ranks above Bhutan | 100% | Settled |
| India ranks above Pakistan | 100% | Settled |
| India ranks above Nepal | 100% | Settled |
| India ranks above Bhutan | 100% | Settled |
| Pakistan ranks above Bhutan | 100% | Settled |
| Nepal ranks above Bhutan | 100% | Settled |
| Pakistan ranks above Nepal | 83% | Not settled |