Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, has placed Pakistan as the 15th most powerful country in Asia after it made significant diplomatic gains last year.
According to the Asia Power Index 2020, Pakistan, under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, has taken numerous initiatives to improve diplomatic ties with other nations.
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Each year, Lowy Institute publishes the Asia Power Index which measures the resources and influence to assess the relative power of 26 countries.
Asia Power Index is compiled on the basis of the following eight performance indicators; economic capability, military capability, resilience, future resources, economic relationships, defense networks, diplomatic influence, and cultural influence.
Overall, Pakistan scored 15.2 out of 100 in the Asia Power Index 2020. The country has improved its diplomatic influence, future resources, and resilience in comparison to last year’s index.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s score for cultural influence, defense networks, military capability, and economic relationships has decreased this year.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s economic capability remained unchanged for 2020.
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Here is a detailed breakdown of Pakistan’s overall score.
| Performance indicator | Annual change in score |
| Diplomatic influence | +3.8 |
| Resilience | +1.3 |
| Future resources | +1.2 |
| Economic capability | +0.1 |
| Economic relationships | -0.2 |
| Military capability | -0.8 |
| Defense networks | -1.9 |
| Cultural influence | -3.9 |
United States, China, Japan, India, and Russia make up the top 5 most powerful countries on the Asia Power Index 2020.
Here are the overall scores of each of these countries.
| Country | Score | Rank |
| United States | 81.6 | 1st |
| China | 76.1 | 2nd |
| Japan | 41 | 3rd |
| India | 39.7 | 4th |
| Russia | 33.5 | 5th |
Via: Lowy Institute
