World risk poll report 2026: The quiet hazards: How everyday risk shapes daily life

This second report focuses on the everyday risks that touch the most lives, examining changes in reported levels of harm from sources such as road traffic to drinking water. The Poll is based on more than 143,000 interviews in 140 countries and territories throughout 2025 and covers places with little to no official data on various aspects of safety and risk. The Poll is a unique resource for understanding the nature and scale of safety challenges across the world, as reported firsthand by those who experience them.

Key findings from the report inlcude:

• Global rates of workplace injury are gradually reducing, with one in six people (16%) saying they have been seriously harmed at work in the past two years – down from 18% in 2023 and 19% in 2021.
• Road-related accidents and injuries are still the most worried-about safety risk worldwide, as has been the case in every edition of the Poll since its inception in 2019. 
• Reported harm from food and drinking water has reached its highest level since the Poll began, with more than one in seven adults globally (14%) reporting being harmed by food in the past two years, and around one in eight (13%) being harmed by drinking water.
• Public concern about air quality is nowhere near the levels it should be, with only half (53%) of people worldwide expressing worry about the risk it poses them – despite World Health Organization (WHO) warnings that 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds its quality limits.