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<\/a><\/p>\nRisk perception by regions<\/strong><\/p>\n Executives in most regions highlighted unemployment or \u2018underemployment\u2019 and \u2018fiscal crises\u2019 as the two greatest risks, although those in North America and East Asia and Pacific regions were most concerned by cyber attacks and asset bubbles.<\/p>\n Following an increase in geopolitical risk, sometimes fueled by protectionist policies, business leaders in Europe, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa were worried about the potential failure of national governance.<\/p>\n In Europe, business leaders added \u2018failure of financial mechanisms or institutions,\u2019 to the list of pressing risks. In South Asia, rapid growth in urban centers led executives in that region to highlight \u2018failure of urban planning\u2019 and \u2018failure of critical infrastructure\u2019 as among the key potential threats to their businesses.<\/p>\n Risks associated with the \u2018failure of climate change adaptation\u2019 elicited very little concern among those deemed likely to pose the gravest threats over the next 10 years \u2013 out of the 20 economies we release today, only Canadian executives put climate change in their top risks list, albeit ranking it lower than some other risks.<\/p>\n The threat of potential terrorist attacks worried executives in North America and the Middle East and Northern Africa, but failed to make it to the top five risks ranking among businesses in the other regions.<\/p>\n In South Africa, the top concern was unemployment or underemployment. Stats published earlier this year revealed unemployment to be at its worst level in more than a decade<\/a> with\u00a0 almost 10 million South Africans looking for a job.<\/p>\n