Youth disillusionment 36.4 Social cohesion erosion 35.6 Human environmental damage 35.6 Asset bubble burst 53.3 IT infrastructure breakdown 53.3 Price instability 52.9 Commodity shocks 52.7 Debt crises 52.3 Interstate relations fracture 50.7 Interstate conflict 49.5 Cybersecurity failure 49.0 Tech governance failure 48.1 Resource geopolitization 47.9 Weapons of mass destruction 62.7 State collapse 51.8 Biodiversity loss 51.2 Adverse tech advances 50.2 Natural resource crises 43.9 Social security collapse 43.4 Multilateralism collapse 39.8 Industry collapse 39.7 Climate action failure 38.3 Backlash against science 37.8 Clear and present dangers Short-term risks (0 – 2 years) Knock-on effects Medium-term risks (3 – 5 years) Existential threats Long-term risks (5 – 10 years) FIGURE I Global Risks Horizon When do respondents forecast risks will become a critical threat to the world? % of respondents Source: World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2020 The Global Risks Report 2021 11 FIGURE I Global Risks Horizon Source: World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2020 The Global Risks Report 2021 12 The Global Risks Landscape 2021 How do survey respondents perceive the impact ↑ and likelihood → of global risks? Source: World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2020 Visible area 11 55 55 Methodology Survey respondents were asked to assess the likelihood of the individual global risk on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 representing a risk that is very unlikely to happen and 5 a risk that is very likely to occur over the course of the next ten years. They also assessed the impact of each global risk on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 representing a minimal impact and 5 a catastrophic impact. To ensure legibility, the names of the global risks are abbreviated. Risk categories Economic Environmental Geopolitical Societal Technological 2.5 2.5 33 3.5 3.5 44 Likelihood → 33 3.5 3.5 44 Impact → Average 3.28 Average 3.40 Climate action failure Climate action failure Infectious diseases Infectious diseases Human environmental damage Human environmental damage Extreme weather Extreme weather Biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss Livelihood crises Livelihood crises Cybersecurity failure Cybersecurity failure Digital power concentration Digital power concentration Natural resource crises Natural resource crises Social cohesion erosion Social cohesion erosion Interstate relations fracture Interstate relations fracture Debt crises Involuntary migration Involuntary migration Prolonged stagnation Digital inequality Digital inequality Resource geopolitization Resource geopolitization Asset bubble burst Asset bubble burst Interstate conflict Interstate conflict Youth disillusionment Youth disillusionment Geophysical disasters Geophysical disasters Social security collapse Social security collapse IT infrastructure breakdown IT infrastructure breakdown Public infrastructure failure Tech governance failure Tech governance failure Weapons of mass destruction Weapons of mass destruction Terrorist attacks Terrorist attacks Commodity shocks Commodity shocks Adverse tech Adverse tech Adverse tech advances advances advances Illicit economic activity Illicit economic activity Mental health deterioration Mental health deterioration Multilateralism collapse Multilateralism collapse Industry collapse Industry collapse State collapse State collapse Backlash against science Backlash against science Price instability Price instability The Global Risks Landscape 2021 How do survey respondents perceive the impact ↑ and likelihood → of global risks? Source: World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2020 Visible area 11 55 55 Methodology Survey respondents were asked to assess the likelihood of the individual global risk on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 representing a risk that is very unlikely to happen and 5 a risk that is very likely to occur over the course of the next ten years. They also assessed the impact of each global risk on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 representing a minimal impact and 5 a catastrophic impact. To ensure legibility, the names of the global risks are abbreviated. Risk categories Economic Environmental Geopolitical Societal Technological Impact → Average 3.28 Average 3.40 Climate action failure Climate action failure Infectious diseases Infectious diseases Human environmental damage Human environmental damage Extreme weather Extreme weather Biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss Livelihood crises Livelihood crises Cybersecurity failure Cybersecurity failure Digital power concentration Digital power concentration Natural resource crises Natural resource crises Social cohesion erosion Social cohesion erosion Interstate relations fracture Interstate relations fracture Debt crises Involuntary migration Involuntary migration Prolonged stagnation Digital inequality Digital inequality Resource geopolitization Resource geopolitization Asset bubble burst Asset bubble burst Interstate conflict Interstate conflict Youth disillusionment Youth disillusionment Geophysical disasters Geophysical disasters Social security collapse Social security collapse IT infrastructure breakdown IT infrastructure breakdown Public infrastructure failure Tech governance failure Tech governance failure Weapons of mass destruction Weapons of mass destruction Terrorist attacks Terrorist attacks