World Economic Forum publishes Global Risks Report 2026

The World Economic Forum has publishes the Global Risks Report 2026, the 21st edition of this annual report. The report was released on 14 January 2026 and analyses global risks through three timeframes to support decision-makers in balancing current crises and longer-term priorities. Chapter 1 presents the findings of this year’s Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS), which captures insights from over 1,300 experts worldwide. It explores risks in the current or immediate term (in 2026), the short-to-medium term (to 2028) and in the long term (to 2036). Chapter 2 explores the range of implications of these risks and their interconnections, through six in-depth analyses of selected themes.

The key findings of the report include the following, amongst others:

• Uncertainty is the defining theme of the global risks outlook in 2026.
• The multilateral system is under pressure.
• Economic risks, taken collectively, show the largest increases in ranking over the next two years, albeit from relatively low rankings last year.
• Technological developments and new innovations are driving opportunities, with vast potential benefits from health and education to agriculture and infrastructure, but also leading to new risks across domains, from labour markets to information integrity to autonomous weapons systems.
• Rising societal and political polarisation is intensifying pressures on democratic systems, as extremist social, cultural and political movements challenge institutional resilience and public trust.
• Environmental concerns are being deprioritised in the short term.
• A new competitive order is emerging: In this period of geoeconomic transformation, alliances are being reshaped and the resilience of markets and of the institutions that emerged from the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 is being tested.

World Economic Forum Insight Report: The Global Risks Report 2026: 21st edition