Risk categories Economic Environmental Geopolitical Societal Technological24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.Short term (2 years) Long term (10 years) Source World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2025-2026FIGURE 5 Lower ranking risks by severity, short term (2 years) and long term (10 years) 2.6: Quantum leaps explores how an acceleration in quantum technologies can offer significant opportunities to societies and economies, from improving the accuracy and speed of climate and weather modelling to the discovery of new drugs. Yet, advancements in the quantum field also risk becoming another facet of strategic rivalry, economic bifurcation and political polarization. Societies are on the edge Rising societal and political polarization is intensifying pressures on democratic systems, as extremist social, cultural and political movements challenge institutional resilience and public trust. The growing prevalence of “streets versus elites” narratives reflect deepening disillusionment with traditional governance structures, leaving many citizens feeling excluded from political decision- making processes and increasingly skeptical that policy-making can deliver tangible improvements to livelihoods. Inequality was selected by respondents as the most interconnected global risk for a second year running, followed closely by Economic downturn (Figure 6). In parallel, Misinformation and disinformation in second position in the two-year timeframe, below Geoeconomic confrontation, remains an acute global concern. As wealth continues to concentrate in the hands of a few, while cost of living pressures remain high, permanently K-shaped economies are becoming a risk, calling the social contract and its financing into question. Section 2.3: Values at war explores how societal and political polarization may deepen over the next two years as technology becomes more embedded in daily life and geoeconomic tensions persist, heightening the risks of increased digital distrust and dilution of socio-environmental progress. Environmental concerns are being deprioritized The GRPS findings suggest heightened prioritization of non-environmental risks relative to environmental ones compared to previous years. In the outlook for the next two years, a majority of environmental risks experienced declines in ranking, with Extreme weather events moving from #2 to #4 and Pollution from #6 to #9. Critical change to Earth systems and Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse also declined, by seven and five positions, respectively, and are in the lower half of the risk list this year in the two-year outlook. All environmental risks also declined in severity score for the two-year time horizon compared with last year’s findings. In other words, not only do their rankings decline relative to other risk categories, but there has also been an absolute shift away from concerns about the environment. In the next 10 years, environmental risks have retained their ranking as the most severe risks, with Extreme weather events identified as the top risk and half of the top 10 risks being environmental in nature (Figures 7 and 10). In this year’s GRPS, we also asked respondents about their perceptions of the global outlook by risk Global Risks Report 2026 10