Economy Inflation, not war, is Gulf states’ top concern, says WEF By Chris Hamill-Stewart January 15, 2025, 7:07 PM Shutterstock Economic risks were the biggest concerns for business leaders and experts across the Middle East World Economic Forum survey Conflict was No1 risk globally Asset bubble a worry for Middle East Economic concerns such as inflation dominate risk perception for the coming year in the Gulf and across Mena, according to the World Economic Forum. Its survey of thousands of experts and business leaders, the Global Risks Report 2025, found that geopolitical conflict was the No 1 risk globally, selected by respondents as the “most likely to present a material crisis on a global scale in 2025”. Saadia Zahidi, a managing director at the forum, said: “The perception that conflicts could worsen or spread tops the list of immediate-term concerns. Fear and uncertainty cloud the outlook in various parts of the world, including in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan.” However, respondents from Mena were less preoccupied with conflict than their peers, despite the proximity of the fighting. Inflation was ranked the No 1 risk by business leaders and experts in the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and Iran. Mena's average inflation rate for 2025 is 8.4 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund. This is almost double the global average of 4.3 percent – and largely driven by economies such as Egypt, Turkey and Iran. Inflation is lower in the GCC countries, despite survey respondents' concerns. It stands at 2.1 percent in the UAE and 1.9 percent in Saudi Arabia. The No 1 concern for Saudi respondents was a bursting of the asset bubble, followed by inflation. Conflict was fourth. Blinken says Saudi-Israeli deal ‘much closer’ in final speech Slow restart predicted for GCC aid to Lebanon UAE shoppers ready to spend, but retail outlook remains tough Only Yemen, Iraq and Israel ranked armed conflict as their top concern for 2025. Environmental concerns also ranked highly. Omani respondents viewed extreme weather events such as flooding as the top risk for 2025. It was third for the UAE, which was hit with record rainfall last April. Access to water was a top 5 concern for Iraq, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan and Morocco.