The world is entering a more unstable and fragmented phase as global cooperation declines and rivalry between major powers intensifies, the World Economic Forum has warned.
In its Global Risks Report 2026, the forum said uncertainty had become the defining feature of the global outlook, based on insights from more than 1,300 experts worldwide.
Half of those surveyed said they expected the next two years to be turbulent or stormy, rising to 57% over the next decade. Just 1% anticipated a calm global environment.
The report identified geoeconomic confrontation as the most immediate global threat in 2026, followed closely by state-based armed conflict.
Trade disputes, protectionism and the use of economic pressure by major powers were cited as key drivers of instability, increasing the risk of wider confrontation.
Economic risks were also intensifying, with experts warning of higher chances of downturns, inflation and asset bubbles amid elevated debt levels and fragile financial markets.
Technological risks are accelerating, the report said, as misinformation, cyber insecurity and the long-term impact of artificial intelligence outstrip existing governance frameworks.
The report also highlighted a retreat from multilateralism, with trust between nations eroding as governments turn inward and cooperation gives way to competition.
Social pressures are mounting, with inequality described as the most interconnected global risk and political polarisation threatening social cohesion.
While environmental risks were seen as less urgent in the short term, they remain the most severe over the longer horizon, with extreme weather and climate change dominating the 10-year outlook.
Looking ahead, nearly 70% of experts said they expected a multipolar and fragmented global order driven more by rivalry than cooperation, warning that choices made now would shape global stability for years to come.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities if Moscow stops targeting Ukraine’s energy sector, critical infrastructure, and food exports, as he prepared to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in New York.
While addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes Washington and Tehran will reach a deal after the U.S. midterm elections.
Iran's military has threatened to launch sustained attacks on U.S. bases and interests across the Middle East if Washington resumes military action against Tehran.
Overnight Russian strikes on the city of Sumy, northeast Ukraine, have killed one woman and injured a man, the country's State Emergency Service has said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, as Washington pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine and Kyiv and Moscow continue to strike energy infrastructure.
The Trump administration plans to set a refugee admissions ceiling of 17,500 over the next 12 months, with the programme expected to consist primarily of South Africans from the white Afrikaner minority, according to a notice sent to Congress on Tuesday, 22 September.
A Venezuelan man who was shot by a federal immigration agent in Austin, Texas, has been treated in hospital for paralysis on his left side and returned to an immigration detention centre, his lawyer says.
U.S. President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed an agreement on Tuesday allowing a larger U.S. military presence in Greenland, easing a months-long dispute over the strategically located Arctic island.
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