India is ranked third on the comprehensive power index after the US (80.5 points) and China (73.7 points). Japan ranks fourth with 38.8 points. Also, India has reached “major power” status on the Asia Power Index-2025 on the back of economic growth and military capability based on its performance in Operation Sindoor, Australia — based think tank Lowy Institute said on Friday.
The annual Asia Power Index report released by the institute noted that its economic capability rank rose by one place to third, overtaking Japan. Increases in its inward investment have seen India rise to ninth place in economic relationships. The report said India was ranked among middle powers in the Asia Power Index-2024 with a comprehensive power score of 38.1, which increased marginally to 40 points to reach the threshold of a “major power”.
The report said India overtook China as the country attracting the most inward investment after the United States, an indicator capturing 10-year cumulative flows. This change is the result of geopolitical factors, with businesses seeking to diversify supply chains, as well as India’s own attractiveness as an investment destination, the institute said.
As per its rankings, India is seen as much ahead of its peers, but it stays behind China with a big difference. Both India and China have scored better in various metrics and improved their standing than before, but a wide gap exists between the two. Russia is seen improving its overall power in Asia for the first time since 2019. The annual Asia Power Index measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of States in Asia.
However, there are still gaps between India’s ambition and the reality of continued limits on its influence, particularly relative to China, it said. According to the report, India’s economy has continued to grow strongly and made small gains in terms of its geopolitical relevance - defined in terms of international leverage, connectivity, and technology. India’s military capability has also improved steadily.
“For the most part, these gains were from improved expert appraisals of its capability, which were likely influenced by India’s performance in Operation Sindoor, launched in May 2025, which added to India’s recent combat experience,” the institute said. India’s weakest measure is defence networks, where it ranks 11. Its score has declined from the previous edition, dropping two ranks to be overtaken by the Philippines and Thailand.
However, India’s influence, particularly in terms of its diplomatic relationships and defence networks, did not improve commensurately, increasing the large negative Power Gap score -- an assessment of the divergence between a country’s expected power based on its resources, and its actual scores in the Asia Power Index.
The seventh edition of the Asia Power Index evaluates the power of 27 countries and territories across Asia, based on 131 indicators across eight thematic measures, including Military Capability and Defence Networks, Economic Capability and Relationships, Diplomatic and Cultural Influence, as well as Resilience and Future Resources.
The United States tops the charts with a score of 81.7 and remains the undisputed leader. China has ranked 2nd of 27, with an overall score of 73.7 out of 100, marking a gain of 1 percentage point in overall score in 2025.
Among other Asian nations, Russia’s power is seen on the rebound, having secured defence and economic partnerships with nations like North Korea and China. Japan’s power remains steady despite recording negative results under various metrics, while other Southeast Asian countries record small improvements in their comprehensive power in 2025.