Global Risks Report (Edition)

Key Chapter Title List

1. Global Risks 2025: A World of Growing Divisions
2. Global Risks 2035: Irreversible Tipping Points
3. Geopolitical Recession
4. Escalating Economic Tensions
5. Technological and Social Polarization
6. The Crossroads of Pollution
7. Runaway Biotechnology?
8. Super-Aging Societies
9. Looking Back: Two Decades of the Global Risks Report
10. Global Risks Perception Survey (2024-2025)
11. National Risk Perceptions: Executive Opinion Survey
12. Risk Governance Framework

Document Introduction

Under the interplay of four structural forces—technological acceleration, geostrategic shifts, climate change, and demographic divergence—global risks are becoming increasingly complex and urgent. The world order is undergoing a paradigm shift characterized by instability, polarized narratives, eroding trust, and insecurity. As the 20th edition of the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report series, this report builds on two decades of risk research to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current and future decade's global risk landscape.

The report employs a three-stage time framework (immediate risks in 2025, near-term risks in 2027, long-term risks in 2035), constructing its analytical foundation on three primary data sources: the Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS), the Executive Opinion Survey (EOS), and in-depth expert interviews. The GRPS aggregates insights from over 900 global leaders across academia, business, government, international organizations, and civil society, while the EOS encompasses the views of more than 11,000 business leaders from 121 economies, providing multi-dimensional empirical support for risk assessment.

The core analysis focuses on five key risk domains: Geopolitically, interstate armed conflict has risen to the top risk for 2025, with multilateralism facing challenges against a backdrop of "geopolitical recession." Economically, trade protectionism and geo-economic confrontation are escalating; although short-term inflationary pressures are easing, concerns remain over elevated asset valuations and supply chain vulnerabilities. Socially, misinformation and social polarization continue to intensify, with inequality emerging as the most critical interconnected risk. Environmental risks have shifted from long-term concerns to immediate realities, with the severity of issues like extreme weather and biodiversity loss set to worsen significantly over the next decade. Technologically, the rapid development of artificial intelligence and biotechnology presents a dual impact, where short-term risks are underestimated but long-term potential harms cannot be ignored.

The report also delves into specialized topics such as super-aging societies, pollution control, and biotechnology ethics, proposing a risk response framework based on multilateral cooperation, regional coordination, technology governance, and capacity building. By reviewing the trajectory of risk evolution over the past twenty years, the report emphasizes that in an increasingly fragmented world, multilateral solutions remain the only viable path to address shared global challenges, and cross-sectoral, cross-regional collaboration and dialogue urgently need strengthening.