Unemployment ranked as single greatest threat to Pakistan’s stability by WEF

A staggering new assessment of national security and economic health has identified the "lack of economic opportunity or unemployment" as the primary risk facing Pakistan .

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026, “global risk” is defined as the possibility of the occurrence of an event or condition that, if it occurs, would negatively impact a significant proportion of global GDP, population or natural resources.

The top five risks for Pakistan

• Lack of economic opportunity or unemployment
• Insufficient public services and social protections
• Misinformation and disinformation
• Natural resource shortages (food and water)
• Economic downturn.

This data suggests that the Pakistani workforce is caught in a "structural deterioration" where stagnating wages and a lack of social mobility are eroding the very fabric of society.

Neighbors like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have already faced the consequences, where a loss of hope for improved livelihoods has previously triggered massive public backlash and political upheaval.

As cost-of-living pressures remain high, the report warns of permanently "K-shaped" economies, where the gap between the asset-owning class and the struggling wage-earner becomes a source of extreme societal polarization.

Analysts are of the view that the cost of debt-servicing has reached multi-decade highs, leaving almost no fiscal space for the government to invest in the "insufficient public infrastructure" that ranks as the nation's second-highest risk. This "fiscal crunch" prevents the modernization of transport, power, and water systems, further stifling the job market.

Adding a geopolitical layer to the domestic crisis, the report identifies the Indus River Basin as a potential flashpoint for "geo-economic confrontation" between India and Pakistan over the next decade. With water security concerns rising, upstream control of rivers could be used as leverage, potentially leading to intense diplomatic pressures.

The report also underscores the role of misinformation and disinformation (ranked #3 in Pakistan) in deepening social fractures.