The Global Risks Report 2024

Appendix B Global Risk Perception Survey 2023-2024 The Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) is the World Economic Forum’s source of original risks data, harnessing the expertise of the Forum’s extensive network of academic, business, government, civil society and thought leaders. Survey responses were collected from 4 September to 9 October 2023 from the World Economic Forum’s multistakeholder communities. Updates to the GRPS 2023-2024 The list of 34 global risks included in the survey was updated in 2023 as follows. Seven new risks were added in response to observed trends across all five categories (economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological): 1. Censorship and surveillance 2. Critical change to Earth systems (climate tipping points) 3. Concentration of strategic r esources (minerals, materials) 4. Er osion of human rights and/or civic freedoms 5. Inequality or lack of economic opportunity 6. Intrastate violence (civil strikes, riots, coups) 7. T alent and/or labour shortages In addition: “Misinformation and disinformation” was recategorized from a societal to a technological risk, while “Disruptions to critical infrastructure” was recategorized from a technological to an economic risk. “Adverse outcomes of AI technologies” was split out from “Adverse outcomes from frontier technologies (quantum, biotech, geoengineering)”, while “Natural disasters and extreme weather events” was delineated into two separate categories (“Extreme weather events” and “Non-weather-related natural disasters”). Global risk categories relating to a failure in governance were removed. This includes “Ineffectiveness of multilateral institutions and international cooperation”, as well as “Failure of climate-change adaptation” and “Failure to mitigate climate change”. These updates were made to ensure the global risks list focused on the core risk itself, rather than a related exposure or vulnerability to that risk through in/action. The names and definitions of the remaining risks have been revised and, where applicable, merged, modified and/or expanded to reflect new ways in which the risks may materialize and the potential adverse outcomes they may cause. However, to ensure comparability over time, the fundamental concept of each risk has remained broadly consistent with that of previous versions of the survey, although names and definitions were modified. Methodology The GRPS 2023–2024 was further refined this year to gather more granular perceptions of risk and to incorporate new approaches to risk management and analysis. To that end, the GRPS 2023–2024 was comprised of seven sections: –Curr ent risk landscape asked respondents to select up to five risks among 20 pre-selected risks that they believe are the most likely to present a material crisis on a global scale in 2024. The final rank is based on the share of respondents who selected the particular risk. The 20 options included: Accidental or intentional nuclear event; Accidental or intentional release of biological agents; AI-generated misinformation and disinformation; Attacks on critical infrastructure; Censorship and erosion of free speech; Cost of living crisis; Cyberattacks; Disrupted supply chains for critical goods or resources; Disrupted supply chains for energy; Disrupted supply chains for food; Economic downturn; Escalation or outbreak of interstate armed conflict(s); Extreme weather events; Housing-bubble burst; Institutional collapse within the financial sector; Public-debt distress; Skills or labour shortages; Societal and/or political polarization; Tech bubble burst; and Violent civil strikes and riots. Respondents were also able to write in additional risks to Other, a free-text field. Results are illustrated in Figure 1.2. Global Risks Report 2024 99