This World Economic Forum report reveals an increasingly fractured global landscape, where escalating geopolitical, environmental, societal and technological challenges threaten stability and progress. It finds the majority of respondents anticipate an unsettled global outlook over the next two years, another 31% expect turbulence and 5% a stormy outlook – together, these three categories of responses show a combined four percentage point increase from last year, indicating a heightened pessimistic outlook for the world to 2027. The rise of state-based armed conflict emerges as the top current risk, followed by extreme weather events, geoeconomic confrontation, and societal polarisation. The report analyses these global risks through three timeframes to support decision-makers in balancing current crises and longer-term priorities.
