Economic Warfare Emerges as Globe’s Most Severe Threat for 2026
The analysis positioned geoeconomic confrontation as the foremost danger in the near term, trailed by the proliferation of false information across digital platforms, deepening divisions within societies, catastrophic climate events, and military conflicts between nations. Additional critical short-term dangers encompass digital security vulnerabilities, widening wealth disparities, deteriorating civil liberties, environmental contamination, and forced population displacement—all securing positions within the top 10 immediate threats.
Projecting a decade ahead, climate-related catastrophes command the risk assessment. Severe weather disruptions claim the number-one spot for long-range threats, with species extinction and ecological system failure taking second place, alongside fundamental alterations to planetary systems in third. Deliberately misleading content occupies the fourth position, while negative consequences stemming from AI innovation round out the top five in extended forecasts.
Survey results revealed profound apprehension among international decision-makers and specialists. Approximately 50% of participants anticipate chaotic or crisis-laden global conditions throughout the coming two years, with a mere 1% predicting stability. Extending the timeline to ten years, 57% project continued upheaval or severe disruption.
"A new competitive order is taking shape as major powers seek to secure their spheres of interest," stated World Economic Forum President and CEO Borge Brende. "This shifting landscape, where cooperation looks markedly different than it did yesterday, reflects a pragmatic reality."
Financial instability demonstrated the sharpest deterioration among short-term concerns, with anxieties surrounding recession and surging prices each jumping eight rankings compared to the previous year's assessment. Research additionally indicated that 68% of participants forecast a "multipolar or fragmented order" across the next ten years, intensifying worries about international commerce networks and worldwide financial resilience.
"The Global Risks Report offers an early warning system as the age of competition compounds global risks – from geoeconomic confrontation to unchecked technology to rising debt – and changes our collective capacity to address them. But none of these risks are a foregone conclusion," declared Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum.
The organization's annual gathering is scheduled for Jan. 19-23.
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