The Global Risks Report 2023

The Global Risks Report 2023 identifies a cost-of-living crisis as the most severe short-term risk, while environmental failures dominate the ten-year outlook. It warns of a 'polycrisis' where interrelated shortages of food, water, and critical minerals, exacerbated by geopolitical fragmentation and slow climate action, could lead to systemic global instability.

• The 'Cost-of-living crisis' is the most severe perceived global risk over the next two years, while environmental risks, specifically 'Failure to mitigate climate change' and 'Failure of climate-change adaptation', are the most severe over the next decade.
• The world is entering a low-growth, low-investment, and low-cooperation era characterized by high public debt and a potential rollback in human development.
• Geoeconomic warfare is becoming a standard tool for global powers, using sanctions, trade wars, and investment screening to achieve geopolitical goals and build national self-sufficiency.
• There is a significant gap between scientific requirements for net-zero and political feasibility, with 70% of survey respondents viewing current climate mitigation and adaptation measures as ineffective or highly ineffective.
• Societal polarization is increasing, driven by gaps in values and equality, which threatens political stability and reduces the capacity for collective global problem-solving.
• The report warns of 'polycrises' by 2030, specifically regarding natural resource shortages in food, water, and critical metals and minerals, where the combined impact exceeds the sum of individual risks.
• Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are accelerating, with over half of global economic output moderately to highly dependent on nature, making its collapse a major economic threat.
• Global health systems are facing a 'panic-neglect' cycle, where attention to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to complacency regarding other chronic health burdens and future pandemic preparedness.
• A new global arms race is emerging, driven by the proliferation of dual-use technologies such as AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology, which blur the lines between civilian and military applications.
• Digital rights are under threat from the 'mosaic effect', where the aggregation of anonymized data sets allows for the re-identification of individuals, compromising privacy even in regulated regimes.
• Sovereign debt distress is increasing, with the proportion of countries at high risk of debt distress doubling since 2015, potentially leading to systemic financial contagion.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). The Global Risks Report 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Global Risks Report 2023. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Global Risks Report 2023 |date=January 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023global, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Global Risks Report 2023}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }