The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a nonprofit foundation where leaders from governments, businesses, international organizations, and civil society gather to discuss global economic and social issues. The WEF usually holds its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, every January, and is therefore better known as the “Davos Forum.” Founded as a nonprofit foundation by Klaus Schwab in 1971, the WEF in December 2014 under Swiss law defining the status of international organizations, was recognized by the Swiss federal government as an “other international organization,” and in January 2015 it signed an agreement confirming the WEF’s status in Switzerland. Although it is a private foundation, its international role connecting governments and businesses was thus officially recognized.
The Davos Forum draws attention every year because policymakers and business leaders from around the world meet in person to discuss the same issues. Nearly 3,000 people from about 130 countries attended the 56th Forum, held from January 19 to 23, 2026, under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue.” About 400 political leaders attended, including approximately 65 heads of state or government—the largest-ever turnout of political leaders.
The Davos Forum attracts attention every year because policymakers and business leaders meet in person to discuss the same issues.
The WEF also publishes materials that offer insight into the direction of discussions at the Forum. The Global Risks Report, released annually ahead of the Davos Forum, is a leading example. The 21st report, published in January 2026, surveyed and compiled the views of more than 1,300 leaders and experts from government, business, academia, international organizations, and civil society on the risks that could threaten the world in the years ahead. Eighteen percent of respondents identified “geoeconomic confrontation” as the risk most likely to trigger a global crisis in 2026. This refers to countries pressuring one another through economic means such as tariffs, sanctions, and investment restrictions. It also ranked first in the assessment of potential harm over the next two years, rising eight places from the previous year. By contrast, “extreme weather” retained first place in the 10-year outlook, and half of the top 10 risks were environmental. In other words, economic conflict between countries is seen as the greatest concern in the near term, while climate and nature-related issues are the greatest concerns over the longer term.
The standards proposed by the WEF also extend to ESG disclosure. In September 2020, the WEF, together with the International Business Council (IBC), a group of executives from major companies around the world, and the Big Four accounting firms (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC), published the “Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics.” It selected commonly usable items from existing disclosure standards and organized them into 21 core metrics and 34 expanded metrics, divided into four areas: principles of governance, planet, people, and prosperity. This was an attempt to consolidate the previously differing ESG disclosure standards into a single framework that companies could use themselves; as of September 2021, more than 50 companies had incorporated the metrics into their annual or sustainability reports.
The WEF is closer to an agenda-setting body than a decision-making one. The Davos Forum provides a venue for governments and businesses to sit down together, while its reports and metrics establish standards for what should be considered a risk and what should be disclosed. However, discussions at the Forum are not binding, so the WEF’s influence is measured by the extent to which participating governments and businesses translate those discussions into actual policies and business practices.