From the perspective of Leon, the top 8 most powerful countries in the world.
#8 Syria- despite having a fairly good income, an expansive empire and high manpower, it lacks the means to defend itself against any would be attacker. It's dp settings hurt morale and leader stats quite badly, and land tech is the lowest in the world. The only thing it has going for defense is diplomacy, using its cot to gain powerful allies, which can only help so much.
#7 Hanseatic League- 20 inflation, ouch. Income isn't so great either, but once it gets LT 26, not far from 23 where it's at now, it'll at least be able to contend with its neighbors. Hansa's dp settings give it +1 fire and shock, and great morale. Manpower is low, but it comes close to making up for this with quality troops.
#6 Spartan League- after having fought a long string of wars, lost a cot and a refinery, spent tons of money and increased inflation to 16 before it fell during a session of ai, Sparta is no more than a mediocre power. It was once one of the 3 big economic nations, but has slid into decline, still holds third highest income but not by much. Its powerful navy helps secure the defense of the Med, while its good dp settings give it an edge in land wars. Manpower is decent as well, so once it gets LT 26, it'll be able to hold its own in any 1v1.
#5 Cossacks- highest manpower, fourth highest income, inexpensive troops, great defensive depth are huge strengths for the Cossacks, but it's plagued by high tech costs and low morale, which prevent it from competing as well with the modern armies of the Huns or Norway. In a war of attrition it has the advantage, but the quality of its troops don't quite pack enough punch to be decisive.
#4 Huns- 2nd highest MP tied with Leon, good income, and decent morale. Huns don't really have any weaknesses in particular, but their central position leaves them vulnerable to many enemies. Inflation and lower tech are also a weakness for the Huns, though not too debilitating.
#3 Normandy- Highest income allow it to have the strongest modern fleet in the world. Morale is not bad either because of its high quality troops, however this comes at a high cost in MP, leaving Normandy with one of the lowest max MP pools. With mercenaries this can be compensated somewhat, but the weakness always leaves it at risk against neighboring land nations.
#2 Leon- Very close to #1, having good morale, 2nd highest MP, inexpensive troops, a strong navy, excellent tech, the most manufacturies, and respectable income. It's main weakness is that its holdings are spread out across the sea, so it needs to maintain a strong fleet to protect the empire. Ships are very expensive for Leon though, and will become only more so as galleys become obsolete, so Leon must fork out a lot of cash to keep up here.
#1 Norway- All around it's very well off- good MP, great income, ability to have a modern fleet without paying too much relatively, good tech, and decent morale. Morale is probably still Norway's greatest weakness, being naval and somewhat quantity oriented. Still, it makes up for this with sheer numbers.
