The 2020 global risks landscape: Top 10 List

As in previous years, the 15th edition of The Global Risks Report is based on the annual Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS)1, completed by 750 members of the World Economic Forum’s global multi-stakeholder community. Respondents are drawn from business, academia, civil society and the public.

The survey asked respondents to assess: (1) the likelihood of a global risk occurring over the course of the next 10 years, and (2) the severity of its impact at a global level if it were to occur. For the first time in the survey’s 10-year outlook, the top five global risks in terms of likelihood are all environmental.

These are the top 5 risks by likelihood over the next 10 years:

1. Extreme weather events (e.g. floods, storms, etc.)
2. Failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation
3. Major natural disasters (e.g. earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption, geomagnetic storms)
4. Major biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse
5. Human-made environmental damage and disasters

These are the top 5 risks by severity of impact over the next 10 years:

1. Failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation
2. Weapons of mass destruction
3. Major biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse
4. Extreme weather events (e.g. floods, storms, etc.)
5. Water crises

Read the 2020 Global Risks Report (GRR) report to see the bigger picture and learn more about the global risks that can impact your company and to build resilience toward these events.