Which Global Risks Have Worsened During The Pandemic?
Each year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) puts together its Global Risks Report, an analysis of the top risks that pose a threat to the world.
The report includes data from nearly 1,000 surveyed leaders, across various organizations and regions. In this year’s report, respondents were asked which global risks have gotten worse since the start of the pandemic.
Here’s what they said.
Social Threats
Visual Capitalist’s Carmen Ang details below that, according to respondents, the erosion of social cohesion is the global risk that has intensified the most since the start of the global pandemic. The WEF defines this as the loss of social capital or social stability.
Inequality existed long before COVID-19, but the pandemic has only made things worse.
For example, employment recovery has been uneven across the United States. High-wage workers have seen employment rates bounce back fairly quickly after their Spring 2020 slump, while low-wage workers haven’t recovered at the same rate.
As of August 2021, employment rates for those making below $27K a year were still down 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Environmental Threats
In addition to societal threats, a couple environmental risks made it to the top of the list as well. Both Climate action failure and extreme weather were in the top five.
Considering how difficult it’s been for international governments to collaborate on COVID-19 relief efforts, respondents feel less than optimistic that we’ll manage to seamlessly deal with the chaos that could come from environmental risks, which are similarly complex.
Which global risk do you think has worsened the most since the start of the pandemic?
