Global Risks Report 2026

The Global Risks Report 2026 identifies 'Geoeconomic confrontation' as the most severe short-term risk, reflecting a shift toward a multipolar order where collaboration is replaced by strategic competition. While economic risks like downturns and inflation are rising sharply in the two-year outlook, environmental risks—led by extreme weather events—remain the dominant concerns for the ten-year horizon. The report highlights the systemic threats posed by AI and quantum technologies, including the potential for a 'systemic collapse of digital trust' and massive labour market disruption. Societal polarization and a fraying social contract are identified as key drivers of instability, while ageing and vulnerable critical infrastructure is seen as a new front for warfare and climate-driven failure.

• Geoeconomic confrontation is the most severe risk for both the immediate term (2026) and the two-year horizon (to 2028), rising eight positions in the latter compared to the previous year.
• Economic risks have seen the sharpest increase in rankings over the two-year timeframe, specifically economic downturn, inflation, and asset bubble bursts.
• Environmental risks are being deprioritized in the short term, with a decline in both ranking and severity scores, yet they remain the most severe risks over a ten-year horizon.
• AI technologies represent the risk with the most significant increase in severity ranking over time, moving from #30 in the two-year outlook to #5 in the ten-year outlook.
• Inequality is identified as the most interconnected global risk for the second consecutive year, acting as a transmission mechanism that fuels societal polarization.
• Quantum computing poses a systemic threat to digital trust through the potential for mass decryption of data and the breaking of public-key infrastructure, a milestone referred to as 'Q-day'.
• AI could cause historic labour market disruption, with one estimate suggesting it could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs in the US within five years, potentially leading to a 'white-collar rust belt'.
• Critical infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable due to ageing systems in OECD countries, the impact of extreme weather, and its use as a target in hybrid warfare.
• There is a growing 'global rule of law recession', with 68% of 143 surveyed countries and jurisdictions experiencing a decline in the rule of law in 2025.

APA

World Economic Forum (2026). Global Risks Report 2026. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2026.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Global Risks Report 2026. 2026. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Global Risks Report 2026 |date=January 2026 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2026global, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Global Risks Report 2026}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }