Global Business Risks: Study Highlights Concerns About Geopolitical Divisions and Misinformation

Global economic tensions and misinformation topped business risk concerns according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026, which warns of a dramatic shift toward environmental threats in the coming decade.

Released this week, the report reveals a stark outlook for the global business environment, with geoeconomic confrontation and false information ranking as the most pressing near-term challenges facing organizations worldwide. The findings stem from an extensive survey of 1,300 experts and 11,000 business leaders, supplemented by hundreds of expert interviews.

“Deepening divisions are at the center of the societal risks we all now face,” said Andrew George, President of Specialty at Marsh Risk, a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum. “Despite the growing severity of these global risks, major governments are moving away from many established frameworks designed to tackle our shared challenges.”

The report highlights how geopolitical fragmentation is accelerating, with mounting conflicts and technological disruptions reshaping business landscapes across industries. In the immediate term, state-based armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and societal polarization round out the top five risks for 2026, reflecting a volatile mix of political, environmental, and social challenges facing businesses.

While near-term concerns focus on geopolitical and social tensions, the report’s 10-year outlook paints a dramatically different picture. Environmental concerns dominate the long-range forecast, with extreme weather events and climate-related issues expected to pose the most significant threats to global business operations by 2036.

This shifting risk landscape suggests businesses must prepare for both immediate political disruptions and longer-term environmental challenges—a complex dual-track planning requirement that many organizations are ill-prepared to address.

Alison Martin, CEO of Life, Health and Bank Distribution at Zurich Insurance Group, another partner in the report, expressed concern about a critical blind spot in business planning. “Societal risks—like declining health, lack of public infrastructure and social protections—barely register in the 10-year risk outlook, even though their effects are already reshaping our world,” Martin noted.

The report also highlights a concerning disconnect in risk perception regarding critical infrastructure. Despite increasing threats from extreme weather, cyberattacks, and geopolitical conflicts, disruptions to essential services ranked just 23rd among long-term concerns.

“This is a dangerous oversight,” warned Peter Giger, Group Chief Risk Officer at Zurich. “From power grids strained by record heat to coastal cities at risk from rising seas, we rely on systems that are underprepared and underfunded. When infrastructure fails, everything else is at risk.”

Technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, represent another double-edged sword in the risk landscape. These innovations promise tremendous benefits but also threaten to widen economic disparities, disrupt labor markets, and create new vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.

“As automation and quantum breakthroughs accelerate, government and business must work together to address the challenges created by role redundancy, economic concentration, and the potential for systemic disruptions in critical infrastructure and digital trust,” George emphasized.

The report’s findings underscore the emergence of what the WEF terms “a new age of global competition,” with nearly all identified risks predicted to increase in severity over the next decade. An overwhelming 57% of respondents anticipate a turbulent or stormy global outlook through 2036.

For multinational corporations and small businesses alike, the report serves as a stark warning that traditional risk management approaches may be insufficient for the complex, interconnected challenges that lie ahead. Organizations that fail to incorporate both immediate geopolitical tensions and longer-term environmental concerns into their strategic planning may find themselves increasingly vulnerable to disruption.

As business leaders gather at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos this week, the Global Risks Report’s findings are likely to shape discussions around corporate resilience, sustainability initiatives, and the need for enhanced public-private cooperation in addressing systemic global challenges.