Global Risks 2025: Conflict Tops the Agenda at Davos

The World Economic Forum identifies armed conflict as the greatest risk to global economic growth in 2025, followed by extreme weather. Global fragmentation and rising geopolitical tensions are key issues as leaders gather in Davos. The survey also highlights misinformation as a severe short-term risk.

The World Economic Forum has identified armed conflict as the most significant risk to global economic growth in 2025, according to a survey released on Wednesday. This finding highlights the deepening global fragmentation as government and business leaders prepare to meet at the annual Davos gathering next week. Nearly 25% of over 900 experts from academia, business, and policymaking ranked conflict, including wars and terrorism, as the top threat for the upcoming year.

Extreme weather, the leading concern in 2024, takes the second spot in the latest rankings. WEF Managing Director Mirek Dusek noted that rising geopolitical tensions and a breakdown of trust are shaping the global risk landscape. In this complex and dynamic context, leaders have a choice: collaborate for resilience or risk compounding vulnerabilities.

The WEF meeting will begin on January 20, with notable addresses from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The ongoing situations in Ukraine, Syria, and Gaza will be topics of discussion, with a particular focus on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Concurrently, misinformation remains a significant short-term threat, while long-term concerns focus on environmental risks such as extreme weather and biodiversity loss.

(With inputs from agencies.)