Geoeconomic confrontation biggest risk to global stability in 2026: WEF

Geoeconomic confrontation has eclipsed all other threats to become the world’s top risk in the near term, according to a survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

- Angela Tan Senior Business Correspondent

The warning comes as global leaders and experts polled brace themselves for a decade that they expect will be defined by turbulence, conflict and deepening division.

About 50 per cent of the 1,300 global leaders and experts WEF surveyed on global risk perception anticipate a turbulent or stormy world over the next two years, an increase from 36 per cent in 2025.

A further 40 per cent expect the two-year outlook to be unsettled, while 9 per cent expect stability and 1 per cent predict calm.

The outlook deteriorates when looking at the next 10 years: 57 per cent expect a turbulent or stormy world, 32 per cent expect things to be unsettled, 10 per cent predict stability and 1 per cent anticipate calm.

Responses to the survey were collected between Aug 12 and Sept 22, 2025.

In its Global Risks Report 2026 released on Jan 14 ahead of its annual meeting at Davos, Switzerland, from Jan 19 to 23, WEF said stability is “under siege” as cooperative mechanisms crumble, with governments retreating from multilateral frameworks.