The Largest Global Risks to Business in 2016

Every year, the World Economic Forum releases an updated list of the top risks to business based on its survey to 750 members of the organization’s global multistakeholder community. Today’s charts and graphics from Raconteur sum up the essentials of this year’s Global Risks report to provide a neat and tidy introduction to the potential pitfalls that could impact markets around the globe.

To start, here are the top 10 risks to business, sorted by potential severity:

Of the top 10 risks, the WEF has rated “failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation” as the highest impact. In terms of probability, “large-scale involuntary migration” took the cake.

In general, economic risks such as “energy price shock”, “fiscal crises”, and “asset bubble collapse” are fairly prominent. Environmental risks are also high, with the organization foreseeing potential “water crises” and the possibility of an “ecosystem collapse” in the near future.

No technological or geopolitical risks made the top 10 in terms of impact, though you will note in the first map that cyberattacks are the most likely risk for North America.

Risks of High Concern

The results get more interesting as we pare down responses based on two very different time horizons. Here’s the risks that were of the highest concern to business leaders within the next 18 months:

Societal, geopolitical, and economic risks take center stage. These contrast greatly with the following list, which sums up the risks of highest concern over a longer time horizon:

It’s all environmental and societal, with concerns about food, peak water, and the climate dominating the bunch.

Risks to Business Over Time

Curious about how the risks to business have changed over time?

The following graphic shows how the top risks by likelihood, and how the list has evolved from 2012 until today: