The World Economic Forum’s latest report on global risks for the year just beginning highlights a “deterioration in the global outlook,” mainly due to the geopolitical situation, compounded by “increasingly extreme weather events.” At a global level, it also points to “societal and political polarisation” which, coupled with technological progress, “is helping to accelerate the spread of false or misleading information.”

All of which further undermines general confidence. In fact, the report identifies misinformation as one of the major risks for 2027. But the greatest immediate risk identified is that of “armed conflict between states.” This will provide plenty of fodder for discussions at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, to be held from 20 to 24 January in Davos, Switzerland on the theme of “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.”

Risks for Luxembourg

In Luxembourg, the concerns are slightly different. The country’s experts seem to be mainly concerned about economic risks, particularly in relation to the labour market. The primary risk is (still) a “shortage of labour and talent.” This is also the main risk identified in Germany, and one of the notable risks at global level. The report stresses that this risk is significant both in the short term (two years) and in the long term (ten years). While it does not specifically detail the causes of the labour shortage, it does mention mismatches between skills supply and demand, and predicts a potential worsening of this phenomenon in view of unfavourable demographic trends such as the ageing of the population.

The experts place the risk of an economic slowdown (stagnation or recession) in second place, and inflation in fifth place. At global level, risks such as inflation have declined compared to last year, says the World Economic Forum, which also speaks of persistent economic tensions. “But there is no room for complacency: if the coming months see a spiral of tariffs and other trade-restricting measures on a global scale, the economic consequences could be significant. The high valuations of several asset classes make them more vulnerable to these and other risks,” points out Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum.

It should be noted that the risk of an economic slowdown is perceived as more worrying by young people. It is ranked third for the under-30s, fourth for those in the 30-39 age range and fifth for the 40-49s. But it is not even in the top 10 for people aged 60 or over.

Also in Luxembourg, the third concern is cyber security, or rather cyber insecurity, as in Denmark and the Netherlands. “Commercial cyber espionage efforts by governments could become more frequent, as part of attempts to favour their national champions. High-income countries tend to highlight the risk associated with cybersecurity. Governments could also put pressure on cloud services companies headquartered in their country to restrict access in other countries,” says the report.

The risk associated with private debt, both household and corporate, also features in the top five risks identified. At global level, however, it is not ranked among the top ten short-term global risks, but it is nonetheless considered a “major concern,” not least because it is one of the three main factors contributing to growing inequality, along with the economic slowdown and inflation.

This article was originally published in .