migration or displacement (#8), and Erosion of human rights and/or civic freedoms (#10) are also in the top 10. Lack of economic opportunity or unemployment has increased 17 positions from last year’s edition and is now #13. Inequality (wealth, income) is perceived as the most central, interconnected risk of all, with significant potential to both trigger and be influenced by other risks (Figure 1.8). The importance ascribed to this set of societal risks suggests that social stability will be fragile over the next two years, weakening trust and diminishing our collective sense of shared values. This is being felt not only within societies but also between societies and governments: the perceived risk of Censorship and surveillance (#16) is up five places compared to last year. Fractures across societal lines are also relevant to environmental risks, which have become a more divisive issue in domestic politics in many countries in recent years. On aggregate across GRPS respondents, concerns about environmental risks are high over the two-year horizon. Respondents list Extreme weather events as the #2 most severe risk for 2027, with Pollution at #6, up four places from last year’s report. While Extreme weather events remain a persistent concern year-on-year – the risk was also ranked #2 last year – the uptickin Pollution demonstrates that environmentalrisks that are often perceived as long-term threatsare starting to be perceived with more certaintyby respondents as short-term realities, as theireffects become more apparent. Climate change isalso an underlying driver of several other risks thatrank high. For example, Involuntary migration ordisplacement is a leading concern, at #8. The following sections explore in-depth three risk themes and examine how these could play out over the next two years. State-based armed conflict (#3) and Geoeconomic confrontation (#9) are, respectively, at the core of Section 1.3: "Geopolitical recession" and Section 1.4: Supercharged economic tensions, while Section 1.5: Technology and polarization explores the links between Societal polarization (#4), Misinformation and disinformation (#1), algorithmic bias and Censorship and surveillance (#16). Global Risks Report 2025 19