Assessing the Soviet Union's strength at this stage was no easy task in itself; it had to be considered from multiple dimensions. By East Africa's own standards, East Africa counted as a fledgling industrial powerhouse, yet its urbanization rate had still not exceeded 50 percent, and its agricultural population remained relatively high.
At present, the Soviet Union's urbanization rate was still below 30 percent, so it could fully be regarded as an agricultural country. Yet no one could treat the Soviet Union as an agricultural nation.
For instance, Japan's urbanization rate was roughly the same as the Soviet Union's, perhaps even slightly higher, but absolutely no one would think Japan's national strength surpassed that of the Soviet Union.
This was similar to the previous life, when the Far East Empire's urbanization rate reached around 60 percent and its national strength became difficult to distinguish from that of the United States. The American economy was stronger, but had plenty of froth; the Far East Empire's industry was strong, but its economic figures were comparatively low.
If this were placed in the early twentieth century, namely East Africa's current era, there would be no need for such trouble. Steel output could basically serve as the most intuitive measure of national strength. Thus, the Soviet Union could rank fourth, and this was also an important indicator used by the overwhelming majority of countries.
East Africa, however, was an exception. In the nineteenth century, steel output had likewise been a goal East Africa pursued. But after entering the twentieth century, as East Africa's steel output rapidly soared and became the world's highest, steel output carried far less weight in East Africa's assessment of the quality of its own economy.
What replaced it was urbanization rates and per-capita levels across various industries. By that logic,