The Middle East and North Africa Risks Landscape briefing paper comes at a time when technological and geopolitical forces are reshaping regional landscapes. The technological breakthroughs of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are bringing opportunity but also risk for those unprepared to adapt. At the same time, fractures between global stakeholders—including geo-economic tension—are adding another layer of risk for the region.

Because the Middle East and North Africa is home to more natural-resources dependant economies than skills-driven ones, and because the region houses existing political and societal divides, the impacts of technological and geopolitical disruptions may be more pronounced here than elsewhere.

Using data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Perception Survey and the Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey, the paper takes a “glocal” perspective—assessing risk from the standpoint of global stakeholders and regional business leaders. In doing so, it offers an assessment of the way in which global risks and regional developments are coming together to form a complex risk environment.