Q&A: who emerged stronger from the war?

How did the positions of Prussia and the other powers after the Seven Years' War compare with their later status?

Britain and France remained major powers; Prussia emerged as a dangerous middle power, Russia rose, and Spain and the Dutch Republic declined relatively.

Britain and France remained major powers, Prussia emerged as a formidable middle-ranking power, and Russia pursued major-power status. Austria remained important but constrained, while Spain and the Dutch Republic declined in relative strategic weight. Portugal's ability to resist Spain with limited British support and Dutch neutrality both affected those judgments. The answer treats power as a changing international position, rather than merely a count of battlefield victories.