A survey conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed that the Philippines ranked poorly in global risks mitigation.

In the Global Risks Perception Survey, the Philippines ranked 66th out of 139 countries in terms of the effectiveness of mitigating global risks. Asian countries such as Singapore, Qatar and Oman topped the survey.

WEF said that the ranking was based on the response of over 1,000 experts from industry, government and academia, who were asked on how they expect 50 global risks to play out over the next 10 years.

The respondents were asked to rate their government’s risk management effectiveness on monitoring, preparing for, responding to and mitigating against major global risks such as financial crisis, natural disasters, climate change, pandemics and others.

The 50 global risks are divided into five categories: economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological risks.

The survey also showed that the Philippines ranked 44th out of 49 countries in terms of its capability to adapt and or recover from the national impact of a global risk.

Singapore consistently ranked first, followed by European countries Norway and Sweden.

WEF said that the survey aims to show how experts from around the world and from different backgrounds, perceive the risks that the world is likely to face over the next decade.

“To capture these opinions, a survey was carried out, interviews were conducted with specialists in different fields, and a series of workshops and conference sessions were held with expert groups to interpret the research findings and to work out the three risk cases developed in the report,” the think tank said.

WEF also aims to continue to raise awareness about global risks, to stimulate thinking about how risks can be factored into strategy development and to challenge global leaders to improve how they approach global risks.

Highlights of the report said that in an interdependent, fast-moving world, organizations are increasingly confronted by risks that are complex in nature and global in consequence.

“Such risks can be difficult to anticipate and respond to, even for the most seasoned business leaders,” WEF said.

Other findings also showed that the world is more at risk as persistent economic weakness saps our ability to tackle environmental challenges. Wealth gaps (severe income disparity) and unsustainable government debt (chronic fiscal imbalances) are the top two most prevalent global risks.