The World Economic Forum (WEF) has identified crime and illicit economic activity as the two most significant economic risks for Bangladesh over the next two years.
In its 21st edition of the Global Risks Report 2026, published yesterday, the WEF also identified geoeconomic confrontation, including the rising use of sanctions, tariffs, and tighter investment screening, as the third major challenge for the country.
This could disrupt trade flows and investment prospects.
The report identified inflation as the third biggest challenge, reflecting persistent price pressures that continue to weigh on households and businesses.
The report, underpinned by the Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS), also warned of risks related to economic downturns and stagflation, noting that slowing growth combined with elevated prices could pose a serious challenge for the economy.
Debt vulnerabilities were highlighted as well, spanning corporate, public, and household segments, which could amplify financial stress during periods of economic uncertainty.
This year’s GRPS drew insights from more than 1,300 experts from academia, business, government, international organisations, and civil society. Responses for GRPS 2025–2026 were collected between August 12 and September 22, 2025.
The global GRPS data also incorporated findings from the WEF’s Executive Opinion Survey, which gathered views from over 11,000 business leaders across 116 economies. This data identified the risks perceived as posing the most severe threat to individual countries over the next two years.
The global outlook remains uncertain, with half of experts expecting a turbulent or stormy global outlook, while only 1 percent anticipate calm, it said.
The report said geoeconomic confrontation has emerged as the top global risk for 2026, climbing eight positions in the two-year outlook, as economic risks rise fastest in the short term, with downturn and inflation both surging eight positions year-on-year.
The report noted that global trade and value chains are experiencing their most severe disruption in decades, amid heightened trade policy uncertainty.
In worst-case scenarios, governments could impose tariffs not only on retaliating countries or blocs but across all trading partners, leading to a substantial contraction in global trade.
Geoeconomic confrontation, the report said, is already spreading beyond tariffs. Governments appear to be losing confidence in the legal framework underpinning global trade.
The World Trade Organisation’s dispute settlement system, critical for resolving trade disputes, has become increasingly marginalised. The number of cases brought to the WTO has fallen to around one-third of pre-2019 levels, after its Appellate Body was disabled.
At the same time, investment screening policies are being expanded by G20 countries, driven more by national security and strategic realignment concerns than in previous years. Countries not aligned with either China or the United States could face pressure to comply with sanctions regimes.
The range of sectors considered strategic has widened, with recent sanctions targeting areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, quantum technology, drones, and rare earths.
