The Global Risks Report 2021

The Global Risks Report 2021 identifies a 'fractured future' where the COVID-19 pandemic has widened digital, economic, and social divides. Key long-term risks are dominated by environmental failure, while short-term threats center on livelihood crises and youth disillusionment. The report argues that these societal fractures hinder the global cooperation necessary to address existential threats like climate change and state collapse.

• Environmental risks are perceived as the most significant long-term threats. 'Climate action failure' is identified as the most impactful and second most likely risk over the next decade, alongside biodiversity loss and human-made environmental damage.
• The pandemic has accelerated a 'digital leap forward' that risks creating a permanent digital underclass. This is driven by gaps in technology access, skills, and the rise of algorithmic bias, which can amplify societal fractures.
• A generation of youth is facing a 'double lost generation' scenario, having been impacted first by the 2008-2009 financial crisis and now by the pandemic. This has led to widespread 'youth disillusionment', which is viewed as a critical short-term threat and a global blind spot.
• Global geopolitical stability is threatened by a shift from a rules-based to a power-based order, characterized by intensified US-China competition and the marginalization of 'middle powers'.
• The global economy suffered its deepest peacetime crisis in 2020, with world output expected to shrink by 4.4%. This contraction disproportionately affected women, youth, and informal workers, with 495 million jobs' worth of working hours lost in Q2 2020 alone.
• The report identifies a 'disorderly industrial shakeout' where big tech companies have consolidated power while micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) faced mass closures, such as the 20% of US firms with fewer than 500 employees that closed permanently between March and August 2020.
• COVID-19 responses revealed systemic failures in global cooperation, including the WHO's lack of independent investigative powers and the implementation of export controls on medical supplies by over 90 jurisdictions.
• To enhance future resilience, the report proposes four governance opportunities: creating holistic analytical frameworks, investing in 'risk champions', improving risk communications to combat misinformation, and developing new public-private partnerships.

APA

World Economic Forum (2021). The Global Risks Report 2021. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2021.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Global Risks Report 2021. 2021. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Global Risks Report 2021 |date=2021 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2021global, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Global Risks Report 2021}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }