Global Shapers Impact Report

The Global Shapers Impact Report 2025 examines the challenges facing young people aged 18-30, including economic instability, climate anxiety, and political underrepresentation. Based on a survey of nearly 4,000 young leaders across 142 countries, it highlights a strong sense of optimism and a commitment to driving systemic change. The report details the impact of over 440 youth-led projects, which primarily focus on education, employment, and environmental action, and provides a framework for empowering youth through leadership development, economic opportunities, and inclusion in high-level decision-making.

• Despite global challenges, a significant majority of young people maintain a positive outlook, with 83% viewing the world as "Full of opportunities" and 74% feeling "empowered to act on the issues they care about."
• Young people identify a lack of economic opportunity as the most pressing local issue, while climate change and nature loss is the top global concern.
• Economic instability remains severe for youth; approximately 20% are not in employment, education or training (NEET), and young women constitute two-thirds of this group.
• There is a significant mismatch between education and the labor market, particularly in developing economies where two-thirds of young workers hold positions that do not match their skills.
• Young people face extreme anxiety regarding the future, with 60% very or extremely worried about climate change and 83% believing that "governments and businesses have failed to care for the planet".
• Political representation for youth is critically low, with only 2.8% of parliamentarians worldwide being under 30 years old.
• While 80% of young people interact with artificial intelligence multiple times daily, 87% express concerns regarding generative AI, specifically regarding "misinformation and disinformation, cybersecurity threats, scams and deepfakes".
• An analysis of youth-led projects shows that while awareness-raising (91.63%) and direct action (87.66%) are the most common tactics, young people perceive the greatest impact in "influencing power and driving systemic change".
• Youth-led initiatives are highly inclusive; of the 80,524 people directly supported by these projects in the last year, 36% belonged to "vulnerable groups", including women, racial minorities, and LGBTQIA+ communities.
• The Global Shapers Community has distributed over 250,000 CHF in funding to 42 youth-led initiatives through mechanisms like the Innovation Prize and Climate Incubator.

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Global Shapers Impact Report. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Shapers_Impact_Report_2025.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Global Shapers Impact Report. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Shapers_Impact_Report_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Global Shapers Impact Report |date=January 2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Shapers_Impact_Report_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025global, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Global Shapers Impact Report}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Shapers_Impact_Report_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }