Global Risks Report 2026

Risk categories Economic Environmental Geopolitical Societal TechnologicalGeoeconomic confrontation Misinformation and disinformation Societal polarization Extreme weather events State-based armed conflict Cyber insecurity Inequality Erosion of human rights and/or of civic freedoms Pollution Involuntary migration or displacement1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.Extreme weather events Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse Critical change to Earth systems Misinformation and disinformation Adverse outcomes of AI technologies Natural resource shortages Inequality Cyber insecurity Societal polarization Pollution Economic downturn Online harms Lack of economic opportunity or unemployment Censorship and surveillance Concentration of strategic resources and technologies Debt Natural resource shortages Asset bubble bursts Disruptions to a systemically important supply chain Insufficient public infrastructure and social protections11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.Concentration of strategic resources and technologies State-based armed conflict Involuntary migration or displacement Lack of economic opportunity or unemployment Censorship and surveillance Erosion of human rights and/or of civic freedoms Debt Online harms Geoeconomic confrontation Biological, chemical or nuclear weapons or hazards Inflation Disruptions to critical infrastructure Crime and illicit economic activity Critical change to Earth systems Intrastate violence Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse Infectious diseases Biological, chemical or nuclear weapons or hazards Talent and/or labour shortages Adverse outcomes of AI technologies21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.Insufficient public infrastructure and social protections Infectious diseases Disruptions to critical infrastructure Economic downturn Adverse outcomes of frontier technologies Disruptions to a systemically important supply chain Asset bubble bursts Decline in health and well-being Crime and illicit economic activity Intrastate violence Decline in health and well-being Non-weather related natural disasters Adverse outcomes of frontier technologies31. 32. 33.Inflation Talent and/or labour shortages Non-weather related natural disastersShort term (2 years) Long term (10 years) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. Source World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2025-2026FIGURE 10 Global risks ranked by severity, short term (2 years) and long term (10 years) "Please estimate the likely impact (severity) of the following risks over a 2-year and 10-year period." Global Risks Report 2026 14