Saadia Zahidi
Managing Director, World Economic Forum

The multi-decade structural forces highlighted in last year’s Global Risks Report – technological acceleration, geostrategic shifts, climate change and demographic bifurcation – and the interactions they have with each other have continued their march onwards. The ensuing risks are becoming more complex and urgent, and accentuating a paradigm shift in the world order characterized by greater instability, polarizing narratives, eroding trust and insecurity. Moreover, this is occurring against a background where today’s governance frameworks seem ill-equipped for addressing both known and emergent global risks or countering the fragility that those risks generate.

This is the 20th edition of the Global Risks Report. Looking back over the last two decades,

environmental risks have steadily consolidated their position as the greatest source of long-term concern. This year’s Global Risks Perception Survey shows that a sense of alarm is also mounting in the shorter term: Environmental problems, from extreme weather to pollution, are here now and the need to implement solutions is urgent.

Concerns about state-based armed conflict and geoeconomic confrontation have on average remained relatively high in the ranks over the last 20 years, with some variability. Today, geopolitical risk – and specifically the perception that conflicts could worsen or spread – tops the list of immediate-term concerns. Fear and uncertainty cloud the outlook in various parts of the world, including in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan, with multilateral institutions struggling to provide effective mediation and work towards resolutions.

Societal risks such as inequality rank high among today’s leading concerns as well as over the

last years. Polarization within societies is further hardening views and affecting policy-making. It also continues to fan the flames of misinformation and disinformation, which, for the second year running, is the top-ranked short- to medium-term concern across all risk categories. Efforts to combat this risk are coming up against a formidable opponent in Generative AI-created false or misleading content that can be produced and distributed at scale.

More broadly, technological risks, while not seen as immediate, rise in the rankings for the 10-year time horizon, given the rapid pace of change in areas such as AI and biotech.