Armed conflict is the biggest risk in 2025, according to a survey by the World Economic Forum released on Wednesday, as government and business leaders gather for the annual gathering in Davos next week.
Nearly one in four of more than 900 experts from academia, business and policymaking surveyed saw conflict, including war and terrorism, as the biggest risk to economic growth this year.
Extreme weather events were the second-highest risk, after being the top concern in 2024.
“In a world marked by deep divisions and cascading risks, world leaders must choose between strengthening cooperation and resilience or facing deepening instability,” Mirek Dusek, managing director of the World Economic Forum, said in a statement accompanying the report. “The stakes have never been higher,” he added.
The forum begins on Jan. 20, the same day Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. president. Trump, who has promised to end the war in Ukraine, will address the forum online on January 23.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the forum on January 21, the forum’s organizers said.
Syria, the “horrible humanitarian situation in Gaza” and a possible escalation of the conflict in the Middle East will be a focus of the forum, said Børge Brende, the forum’s president and CEO.
Negotiators are set to finalize details of a possible ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after intensive talks in Qatar.
According to the survey, experts considered the biggest risk facing the world over the next two years to be the threat of misinformation and disinformation, which retained its ranking for 2024.
According to the survey, a global risk is a situation that would significantly negatively affect global GDP, population or natural resources.
A majority of 64% of respondents expect the world to remain multipolar and fragmented.
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