Top global risks in 2026 and how the Davos 'spirit of dialogue' can help us face them

The Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum's annual snapshot of the biggest risks facing the world in the near, medium and long terms, shows geopolitical and economic risks on the rise in the new 'age of competition'. 

The report is published just days before the Forum's Annual Meeting and is a good indicator of what the 3,000 leaders convening in Davos, Switzerland will be talking about.

Gayle Markovitz is joined by a co-host, Forum Managing Director Saadia Zahidi, and two expert guests, Peter Giger, Group Chief Risk Officer at Zurich Insurance, and Andrew George, Global President of Specialties at Marsh.

The Global Risks Report, available here, was compiled by Mark Elsner and Grace Atkinson of the Forum's Global Risks Initiative.

Catch up on all the action from the Annual Meeting at wef.ch/wef26 and across social media using the hashtag #WEF26. And follow Radio Davos wherever you get podcasts to get our daily morning shows every day of the Davos week, starting Monday, 19 January.

Links:

Global Risks Report 2026: https://wef.ch/risks26

Global Risks Initiative: https://initiatives.weforum.org/global-risks/home

Peter Giger's blog "Critical infrastructure is at critical risk: It's time to treat it as such": https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/12/business-executives-most-worried-about-risks/

Andrew George's blog: How can businesses navigate technology risks and opportunities in a competitive age?: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/businesses-navigate-technology-risks-global-risks-2026-mars…

Marl Elsner's blog: These are the top 10 risks in 2026:  Geoeconomic confrontation ranks highest in 'age of competition': https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/global-risks-2026-top-10-two-and-ten-year-horizon/

Grace Atkinson's blog: Global risks in 2026 and over the past 5 years: What's changed and what hasn't?: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/global-risks-over-the-past-5-years-what-s-changed-and-what-…

Related podcasts:

Cybersecurity Outlook 2026: the view from Interpol and the threat to 'OT': https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/global-cybersecurity-outlook-2026-interpol-dragos/

Global Risks Report: the big issues facing the world at Davos 2025: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/global-risks-report-2025/

Making sense of geopolitics in 2025: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/war-peace-geopolitics/

Superpower rivalry and geopolitics in Trump 2.0: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/geopolitics-lynn-kuok-the-national/

We have entered the age of "persistent disruption" - Visa's Wayne Best on the Chief Economists Outlook: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/chief-economists-outlook-visa-wayne-best/

Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wef

Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164

Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560

Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552