From geoeconomic conflict to extreme weather events and misinformation - WEF highlights biggest risks the world faces

What can we expect from what seems to be an increasingly fragmented world in 2026?

Well, the just-released World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 finds the globe in an "age of competition", marked by complexity and confrontation.

A new report is published every year ahead of the WEF annual Davos summit, setting the agenda for discussion. This year it focuses on reestablishing A Spirit of Dialogue.

The 2026 edition identifies economic conflicts between major powers as the greatest risk facing the world over the next two years.

Both the short and long-term outlooks of the 1,300 leaders and risk experts polled, predict "turbulent" to "stormy" times.

"Geoeconomic confrontation, mis- and disinformation and societal polarization make up the top three short-term risks, while environmental risks dominate in the long term. The report sets the agenda for discussions at #wef26, which this year focuses on reestablishing 'A Spirit of Dialogue'.

Stephen Grootes interviews Spiros Fatouros, CEO of insurance broking and risk management group Marsh McLennan Africa, which is involved in the Global Risk Report.

What is really driving global uncertainty, he says, is a fundamental shift from what could be described as an era of international cooperation, to one now marked by rivalry and fragmentation.

"I think the multipolar global landscape has really changed and is being characterised now more by declining trust among nations and quite a significant retreat from multilateral frameworks... and really how this plays out, as these cooperative mechanisms erode. It undermines the ability of the international community to really address the challenges that we face."

Watch the video presentation of the greatest risks the world faces below:

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to this important conversation