Cybersecurity, income inequality & insufficient public services the top risks in India in 2026: World Economic Forum

Geoeconomic confrontation will be the single-biggest risk globally in 2026, overtaking State-based armed conflicts and extreme weather events, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026. In India, however, the top risk is cybersecurity, followed by income and wealth inequality. 

According to the report, for India, while cybersecurity and income and wealth inequality were the top two risks, these were followed by “insufficient public services and social protections, economic downturn and State-based armed conflict”.

“In 2026, geopolitical and geoeconomic risks dominate the [global] risk outlook, with close to one-third of Global Risks Perception Survey respondents selecting either geoeconomic confrontation (18% of respondents) or State-based armed conflict (14% of respondents) as the top risk for 2026,” the report said. 

It further noted that geoeconomic confrontation has increased two positions compared to last year and is now the number one risk, with State-based armed conflict falling to the second position.

The report said that there has been an uptick in respondents’ concerns over technological risks, with misinformation and disinformation coming in at number 5 (7% of respondents), and two new entrants in the top 10 risks: adverse outcomes of AI technologies at the eighth rank and cyber insecurity at rank 9.

The Global Risks Perception Survey is based on responses from over 1,300 “global leaders and experts” from academia, business, government, international organisations and civil society, as well as the Global Risks Report Advisory Board, the Global Future Councils Network and the World Economic Forum’s C-suite members.