Global Risks Report 2026:
The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risks Report 2026 has identified cybersecurity as the biggest risk for India in 2026, while geoeconomic confrontation has emerged as the single most severe global risk, overtaking armed conflict and climate threats.
- The Global Risks Report 2026 identifies cybersecurity as India’s biggest risk and geoeconomic confrontation as the most severe global threat, with rising inequality, weak public services, and strategic instability amplifying the impact of external shocks on India’s governance and economy.
- Addressing these risks requires stronger digital and economic resilience, treating inequality as a macro-risk, countering hybrid threats and disinformation, and embedding climate resilience into India’s long-term development and security strategy.
Key Findings of the Global Risks Report 2026:
- In the immediate term (2026), Geoeconomic Confrontation has emerged as the biggest global risk, overtaking armed conflict and extreme weather events as the most likely trigger of a global crisis.
- Geoeconomic Confrontation refers to the strategic use of economic tools such as trade restrictions, sanctions, investment controls, and technology bans by states to advance geopolitical interests and constrain rivals, weakening multilateralism and rising protectionism.
- State-based armed conflict ranks second globally, reflecting ongoing wars and regional spillover risks.
- Climate-related risks like extreme weather events rank next, alongside societal polarisation.
- Technological risks are rising globally, with misinformation and disinformation ranking 5th worldwide, reflecting growing threats to democratic processes and social trust.
- At the same time, adverse outcomes of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have entered the top 10 global risks, highlighting concerns over job displacement, ethical misuse, and security challenges.
- Cyber insecurity ranks 9th globally, underscoring increasing digital vulnerability as economies and governance systems become more digitally dependent.
- Over the long term (next ten years), climate-related risks dominate, with extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, and critical changes to Earth systems at the top.
