Global Risks Report 2026 (WEF): Global Landscape… and What It Means for Egypt

(1) Overview

The Global Risks Report 2026 matters for decision-makers because it does not merely list risks—it offers an early-warning framework that treats risks as a fast-moving, interconnected system, at a moment when international cooperation is strained by growing competition among major powers. In this context, risk management becomes part of competitiveness management: disruption to trade, investment, supply chains, and market volatility affects not only growth but also financing costs, price stability, and public tolerance for reforms.

What is distinctive in the 2026 edition is the clarity of the near-term anxiety: geoeconomic and economic risks dominate the two-year horizon, while environmental risks remain structurally dominant in the 10-year view. The report also adds a country lens through EOS, highlighting “national hotspots” over the next two years—highly relevant for Egypt, where the EOS set clusters around macro and equity risks (inflation/recession/debt/asset bubble/inequality). 

(2) Data Card

Brief:
Global Risks Report 2026 is the 21st annual edition of WEF’s flagship series. It analyses risks across multiple time horizons and complements governance/competitiveness reporting through the lens of shock management and resilience. 

Structured list (concise):

• Official name: Global Risks Report 2026
• Issuer: World Economic Forum (WEF)
• Type: Analytical report (not a country ranking) + country-level perception annexes (EOS)
• Publication date (ISO): 2026-01-14 
• Frequency: Annual 
• Status: Active ✅
• Official landing: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2026/ 
• Digest: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2026/digest/ 
• In full (incl. methodology pages): https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2026/in-full/ ([World Economic Forum][4])
• GRPS data & infographics: within the official publication pages 

Mini table:

(3) Methodology & Dimensions

3.1 GRPS methodology (global lens)

• The report draws on GRPS as WEF’s core risk data instrument, with participation from 1,300+ experts across sectors. 
• Responses were collected between 12 August and 22 September 2025. 
• A “global risk” is defined as the possibility of an event/condition that negatively impacts a significant share of global GDP, population, or resources. 
• GRPS covers a set of 33 global risks with definitions. 
• GRPS components include: risk landscape (severity across horizons), consequences, risk governance, and outlook. 
• The “overall outlook” scale classifies the world as: calm / stable / unsettled / turbulent / stormy. 

3.2 EOS methodology (country lens)

• The report uses EOS to identify the most severe risks for each economy over the next two years, based on 11,000+ business leaders across 116 economies. 
• In the EOS annex, respondents select five risks posing the greatest threat to their country over two years from the EOS risk list.

3.3 Practical “dimensions” used by the report

> This is not a pillar-based index, but its dimensions are operationally captured through risk categories and time horizons.

• Risk categories: Economic, Environmental, Geopolitical, Societal, Technological (as used across the risk lists and EOS framing).
• Time horizons: Immediate (2026), next two years, next 10 years. 

(4) Global & Selected Regional Signals

4.1 Global: “world in 2026” signals

• Uncertainty dominates: 50% expect a “turbulent/stormy” outlook in two years; 57% in ten years; only 1% expect “calm” in both. 
• Potential 2026 crisis trigger: geoeconomic confrontation was selected by 18% as the most likely risk to trigger a material global crisis in 2026. 
• Top risks cited for 2026 (official release framing): geoeconomic confrontation, interstate conflict, extreme weather, societal polarization, and misinformation/disinformation. 
• 10-year view: environmental risks dominate the top positions (extreme weather, biodiversity loss, critical Earth system changes), while misinformation and AI-related concerns remain elevated long-term. 
• International order shift: 68% expect a fragmented, multipolar system over the coming decade.

4.2 Selected MENA peer signals (EOS Top-5 over 2 years)

> Method note: these are not regional rankings; they are examples from official country Top-5 lists in the EOS annex.

• Egypt: inflation; slowdown/recession; debt; asset bubble; inequality.
• Bahrain: slowdown/recession; lack of opportunity/unemployment; debt; inflation; inequality.
• Oman: inflation; slowdown/recession; adverse outcomes of AI technologies; asset bubble; cyber insecurity.
• UAE: inflation; asset bubble; adverse outcomes of AI technologies; slowdown/recession; talent/skills shortage.

Regional takeaway: macro risks (inflation/recession/debt/assets) appear as a shared core, while some peers explicitly elevate technology risks (AI/cyber) among their top threats.

(5) Egypt Lens (Facts) — as officially available in this edition

The report does not provide a “country rank” for Egypt. It does, however, provide an EOS-based Top-5 national risk list over the next two years:

• 1) Inflation
• 2) Economic slowdown / recession
• 3) Debt (public / corporate / household)
• 4) Burst of an asset bubble
• 5) Inequality (wealth / income)

Policy-safe reading (no invented baselines): This points to a concentrated risk bundle around macro stability (prices/growth/fiscal-financial pressures) and social cohesion, in a global environment of higher volatility, disrupted supply chains, and intensified geoeconomic competition. ([World Economic Forum][1])

(6) Summary Tables

Table 1 (Mandatory): “Main axis ↔ item ↔ Egypt status ↔ brief policy note”

Table 2 (Optional): Selected peer comparison (EOS Top-3 over 2 years)

(7) Gap Analysis & Top 5 Priorities

1. Anchor inflation expectations: cost-of-living pressures dominate near-term risk; reduce uncertainty via coherent policy mix and regular data releases.
2. Shock-proof growth: recession risk is rising globally; improve productivity, investment resilience, and supply chain robustness. 
3. Debt risk governance: with debt in the Top-3, institutionalize a public monitoring framework for key risk indicators (cost/maturity/exposure).
4. Financial stability & asset volatility: “asset bubble” calls for stress tests and macroprudential vigilance.
5. Inequality as a risk multiplier: inequality amplifies other risks and strains the social contract; improve targeting and opportunity pathways.

(8) Reform Roadmap (6–24 months) — measurable and execution-ready

> Global anchoring signals (competition/uncertainty and the rise of geoeconomic-economic risks): ([World Economic Forum][2])

(9) Focused Conclusion

The Global Risks Report 2026 portrays a world entering an “age of competition”, with heightened near-term fragility and stronger macro shocks, while environmental risks remain structurally dominant long-term. For Egypt, the EOS lens suggests that the next two years—through the perceptions of business leaders—centre on inflation, growth risk, debt, financial stability, and inequality. ENCC’s next step is to integrate these signals into competitiveness monitoring dashboards, align them with relevant international indicators, and convene a policy/data dialogue with national partners to strengthen Egypt’s shock resilience and measurability—without implying any country “rank” that is not officially published. 

Official References (selected)

• Official landing: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2026/ 
• Digest: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2026/digest/ 
• In full (incl. methodology pages): https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2026/in-full/ 
• Press release: https://www.weforum.org/press/2026/01/global-risks-report-2026-geopolitical-and-economic-risks-rise-in-new-age-of-competition/ 

Notes & Data Limits

• This is a non-ranked analytical report; EOS provides country Top-5 signals but not a “country score” or “rank”.
• Where no baseline is provided in the source, KPIs are framed as publishable cadence/coverage measures (not invented numeric targets).
• All Egypt-specific “facts” above are limited to what is explicitly stated via the EOS annex framing in the publication material cited.