The World Problems Index

206 entries catalogued

The catalogue: every problem we can name, in one list.

The ranked index covers the hundred problems we can measure properly. This is the wider field — one line each, no claim of completeness. Entries that also appear in the ranked index carry their full severity score and link through to their page; a starred figure is a provisional estimate, and a dash means it hasn’t been scored yet — open it and one is researched on the spot.

206 shown
  1. 001Afghanistan Humanitarian CollapseEconomic collapse, aid cuts and systematic exclusion of women have created one of the largest aid caseloads in the world.South Asia58.1
  2. 002AI Catastrophic RiskCapability advancing faster than any governance.Global55.7
  3. 003AI Labour DisruptionAutomation arriving faster than retraining.Global44.7
  4. 004Air PollutionSeven million deaths a year from the air itself.Global86.4
  5. 005Alcohol HarmThree million deaths a year, largely unregulated.Global52.1
  6. 006Amazon Dieback RiskRainforest approaching a savannah transition.Americas53.2
  7. 007Antibiotic Pipeline FailureAlmost no new classes in development.Global—
  8. 008Antimicrobial ResistanceThe slow end of reliable antibiotics.Global76.3
  9. 009Armenia-Azerbaijan ConflictA resolved territorial war that produced the near-total displacement of a population.Caucasus22.1
  10. 010Arms Transfers to ConflictsWeapons flowing legally into atrocity zones.Global—
  11. 011Asteroid Impact RiskLow probability, unbounded consequence, thin detection.Global—
  12. 012Attacks on Aid WorkersRecord numbers of humanitarian staff killed.Global—
  13. 013Attacks on Health FacilitiesHospitals struck in conflicts on every continent.Global—
  14. 014Autonomous WeaponsLethal targeting decisions moving to software.Global—
  15. 015Avian Influenza H5N1Mammal-to-mammal spread raising pandemic risk.Global—
  16. 016Biodiversity LossA million species facing extinction.Global70.6
  17. 017Cabo Delgado InsurgencyAn Islamist insurgency in northern Mozambique sitting on top of a major gas project.Southern Africa33.7
  18. 018CancerTen million deaths a year and rising with ageing.Global68.2
  19. 019Cardiovascular DiseaseThe single largest cause of death worldwide.Global71.1
  20. 020Central African Republic ConflictA long-running armed conflict that has displaced a fifth of the population.Central Africa33.0
  21. 021Chemical and PFAS PollutionForever chemicals in nearly all drinking water tested.Global—
  22. 022Child LabourA hundred and sixty million children working.Global40.7
  23. 023Child MarriageTwelve million girls married before eighteen each year.Global38.0
  24. 024Child Soldier RecruitmentTens of thousands of children in armed groups.Global—
  25. 025Child Stunting and WastingPermanent developmental damage from early hunger.Global—
  26. 026Cholera OutbreaksA treatable disease surging on broken water systems.Global—
  27. 027Cholera ResurgenceA wave of outbreaks driven by conflict, floods and broken water systems.Global28.1
  28. 028Chronic Respiratory DiseaseCOPD and asthma driven by air pollution and smoking.Global54.1
  29. 029Climate ChangeGlobal warming: the forcing function behind much of this list.Global89.6
  30. 030Closing Civic SpaceNGO laws shutting down independent organisation.Global—
  31. 031Colombia Armed Group ViolencePost-peace-deal fragmentation has left armed groups controlling large rural areas.South America53.9
  32. 032Conflict-Related Sexual ViolenceSystematic rape used as a weapon, rarely prosecuted.Global—
  33. 033Coral Reef CollapseRepeated mass bleaching is dismantling the most biodiverse marine ecosystem.Global51.4
  34. 034Coral Reef CollapseMass bleaching events now occurring back to back.Global—
  35. 035Corruption and Illicit FlowsPublic revenue drained offshore at scale.Global49.9
  36. 036Critical Mineral ConcentrationEnergy transition dependent on a few suppliers.Global—
  37. 037Crop and Livestock DiseaseMonoculture staples exposed to single pathogens.Global—
  38. 038CybercrimeTrillions in annual losses and industrialised ransomware.Global52.4
  39. 039DeforestationPrimary forest cleared faster than it regrows.Global61.4
  40. 040DementiaCases set to triple as populations age.Global58.4
  41. 041Democratic BackslidingMore people under autocratising than democratising rule.Global47.8
  42. 042Demographic ContractionFertility below replacement across most of the world.Global—
  43. 043Dengue ExpansionMosquito range spreading with the climate.Global—
  44. 044DesertificationProductive land turning to desert across drylands.Global55.0
  45. 045DiabetesHalf a billion people, most undiagnosed or untreated.Global—
  46. 046Diabetes and ObesityA metabolic epidemic reshaping health systems in every income bracket.Global67.7
  47. 047Diarrhoeal Disease in ChildrenChildren still die in large numbers from an illness treatable with salt, sugar and clean water.Global45.8
  48. 048Digital DivideA third of humanity still offline.Global—
  49. 049Dirty Cooking FuelHousehold smoke killing millions, mostly women and children.Global—
  50. 050Disability ExclusionA sixth of humanity shut out of work and services.Global44.5
  51. 051DisinformationShared facts eroding as synthetic media scales.Global45.7
  52. 052DroughtMulti-year droughts across Africa, Asia and the Americas.Global—
  53. 053DrowningA quarter of a million deaths a year, largely children.Global—
  54. 054Dual-Use Research RiskEnhancement research published without controls.Global—
  55. 055Eastern DRC ConflictDecades of armed group violence over minerals and territory.Africa72.0
  56. 056Eastern DRC Ebola OutbreakEastern Congo's rapidly growing Ebola outbreak has killed over 1,500 people and is worsening hunger amid conflict and response shortfalls.Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo25.7
  57. 057Ebola and Marburg OutbreaksRecurrent filovirus emergencies with thin response capacity.Africa—
  58. 058Economic InequalityWealth concentration distorting politics as well as markets.Global50.0
  59. 059Elder Care DeficitAgeing populations without care systems.Global—
  60. 060Electronic WasteToxic informal recycling in a handful of countries.Global38.4
  61. 061Energy PovertySeven hundred million people without electricity.Africa—
  62. 062Engineered Pandemic RiskSynthesis capability outpacing biosecurity controls.Global57.6
  63. 063Ethiopia Internal ConflictsFighting in Amhara and Oromia continues after the Tigray war, with severe humanitarian consequences.East Africa60.7
  64. 064Ethiopia Regional ConflictsAmhara and Oromia violence after the Tigray war.Africa—
  65. 065Extreme HeatWet-bulb conditions approaching survivability limits.Global—
  66. 066Extreme PovertySeven hundred million below the poverty line, progress stalled.Global58.5
  67. 067Extreme WildfiresFire seasons are lengthening and burning places that historically did not burn.Global66.7
  68. 068Falling Vaccination CoverageMeasles and polio returning to eliminated regions.Global37.0
  69. 069Female Genital MutilationMore than two hundred million women affected.Global31.6
  70. 070Fertiliser DependenceGlobal food output tied to volatile gas prices.Global—
  71. 071Financial System InstabilityLeverage concentrated outside regulated banking.Global—
  72. 072Food Price ShocksPrice spikes causing hunger faster than droughts.Global52.3
  73. 073Forced DisplacementMore than a hundred million people displaced.Global61.8
  74. 074Freshwater and Groundwater DepletionAquifers that took millennia to fill are being drained within a lifetime.Global61.2
  75. 075Gambling HarmOnline betting normalised and largely unregulated.Global—
  76. 076Gaza ConflictMass civilian casualties and near-total displacement in a sealed territory.Middle East60.0
  77. 077Gender-Based ViolenceOne in three women, almost nowhere prosecuted properly.Global57.8
  78. 078Glacier and Snowpack LossSeasonal water storage for two billion people melting away.Global56.7
  79. 079Global HungerSeven hundred million people undernourished.Global84.0
  80. 080Groundwater DepletionAquifers drained faster than any recharge rate.Global—
  81. 081Haiti Gang ControlArmed groups control most of the capital.Americas46.9
  82. 082Health Worker ShortageA shortfall of ten million staff, worst where need is highest.Global51.0
  83. 083Healthcare-Associated InfectionHospital-acquired infection killing millions annually.Global—
  84. 084HIV/AIDSStill killing where treatment access is thinnest.Global49.5
  85. 085Household Air PollutionCooking on solid fuel kills millions, almost entirely women and children.Global60.3
  86. 086Housing and HomelessnessA billion people in inadequate housing.Global48.7
  87. 087Human TraffickingCriminal networks moving people across every region.Global—
  88. 088Humanitarian Funding GapAppeals funded at a fraction of assessed need.Global—
  89. 089Illicit Drug EconomyProduction and trafficking destabilising producing states.Global—
  90. 090Indigenous Land RightsDefenders killed at several per week.Global39.9
  91. 091Informal and Unsafe WorkTwo billion workers with no protection.Global—
  92. 092Infrastructure CyberattacksPower, water and hospitals as routine targets.Global—
  93. 093Insect and Pollinator DeclineThe animals that pollinate a third of our food are disappearing.Global50.1
  94. 094Insect DeclinePollinator collapse under pesticides and habitat loss.Global—
  95. 095Institutionalised ChildrenMillions of children in harmful residential care.Global—
  96. 096Intensifying CyclonesStorms outpacing the infrastructure built for them.Global64.6
  97. 097Internet ShutdownsConnectivity cut during elections and protests.Global30.9
  98. 098Invasive SpeciesEcosystem disruption costing hundreds of billions.Global—
  99. 099Judicial ExecutionsRising execution counts in a handful of states.Global—
  100. 100Kashmir DisputeMilitarised standoff between two nuclear states.Asia34.9
  101. 101Korean Peninsula StandoffNuclear-armed deadlock with collapsing communication channels.Asia—
  102. 102Korean Peninsula TensionsA nuclear-armed standoff alongside one of the most severe closed-country humanitarian situations.East Asia43.4
  103. 103Kumamoto EarthquakeA magnitude-7.1 earthquake in Japan's Kumamoto region reportedly killed at least 13 people and forced more than 9,000 residents to evacuate.Kumamoto, Japan13.5
  104. 104Laboratory Biosafety GapsHigh-containment labs expanding with uneven oversight.Global—
  105. 105Lack of Surgical AccessFive billion people without safe, affordable surgery.Global—
  106. 106Lake Chad Basin InsurgencyBoko Haram and offshoots across four countries.Africa—
  107. 107Landmines and Unexploded OrdnanceContamination that keeps killing decades after wars end.Global—
  108. 108LandslidesDeforested slopes plus heavier rain.Global—
  109. 109Lead ExposureA neurotoxin still circulating in paint, cookware, batteries and spices, costing children measurable IQ.Global67.7
  110. 110Lead PoisoningCognitive damage to hundreds of millions of children.Global—
  111. 111Learning PovertyMost children in poor countries cannot read by ten.Global49.0
  112. 112Lebanon Economic and Security CrisisA currency collapse and a border war layered on top of each other.Middle East49.8
  113. 113LGBTQ PersecutionCriminalisation in dozens of countries.Global—
  114. 114Libya InstabilityA divided state, migrant abuse and periodic armed clashes over a decade after the civil war.North Africa32.2
  115. 115Light and Noise PollutionEcological disruption at continental scale.Global—
  116. 116Locust and Pest OutbreaksCrop destruction across food-insecure regions.Africa—
  117. 117Long CovidChronic disability at population scale, poorly counted.Global36.6
  118. 118MalariaHundreds of thousands of child deaths a year.Africa54.5
  119. 119Mali Security CollapseJunta rule, mercenaries and expanding insurgent control.Africa—
  120. 120Mass Atrocity RiskMultiple states with active early-warning indicators.Global—
  121. 121Maternal and Child MortalityPreventable deaths concentrated in a few dozen countries.Global61.0
  122. 122Measles ResurgenceOutbreaks following pandemic immunisation gaps.Global35.6
  123. 123Medicine and Vaccine ShortagesFragile single-source supply for essential drugs.Global—
  124. 124Megacity Earthquake RiskTens of millions in unreinforced buildings on live faults.Global57.3
  125. 125Mental Illness and SuicideA treatment gap covering most of the world.Global71.9
  126. 126Mexico Cartel ViolenceHomicide rates comparable to active war zones.Americas49.9
  127. 127Migrant DetentionIndefinite detention as standard border policy.Global—
  128. 128Migrant Route DeathsThousands drowned or lost in deserts each year.Global—
  129. 129Mining and Tailings PollutionDam failures and mercury contamination downstream.Global—
  130. 130Modern SlaveryFifty million people in forced labour or forced marriage.Global53.3
  131. 131Mpox OutbreaksClade I spread across Central and East Africa.Africa—
  132. 132Multilateral DeadlockThe bodies meant to handle all of the above are blocked.Global—
  133. 133Myanmar Civil WarPost-coup fighting across most of the country.Asia60.3
  134. 134Neglected Tropical DiseasesA billion people, almost no commercial research incentive.Global38.4
  135. 135Nigeria Insecurity and BanditryInsurgency in the northeast and armed banditry in the northwest have displaced millions.West Africa56.5
  136. 136Nuclear Waste StorageNo permanent repository nearly anywhere.Global—
  137. 137Nuclear Weapons RiskArms control collapsing while arsenals modernise.Global38.8
  138. 138Obesity and Metabolic DiseaseA food system optimised against human health.Global—
  139. 139Ocean AcidificationCarbon chemistry dissolving the base of marine food webs.Global54.1
  140. 140Oil Spills and Gas FlaringChronic contamination in producing regions.Global—
  141. 141Opioid and Synthetic Drug CrisisFentanyl analogues outpacing every intervention.Americas56.8
  142. 142Orbital DebrisA cascade would take out global navigation and weather data.Global44.0
  143. 143Out-of-School ChildrenA quarter of a billion children with no schooling.Global—
  144. 144OverfishingStocks fished beyond recovery across most of the ocean.Global49.3
  145. 145Pakistan Monsoon FloodsMonsoon rains and flash floods in Pakistan have killed at least 109 people over the past month, according to disaster authorities.Pakistan23.7
  146. 146Pandemic Preparedness GapThe world remains structurally unprepared for the next respiratory pandemic.Global62.2
  147. 147Pension ShortfallsAgeing societies with unfunded retirement promises.Global—
  148. 148Permafrost ThawCarbon and methane release that cannot be reversed.Global40.5
  149. 149PFAS and Forever ChemicalsIndustrial chemicals that do not break down are now in almost every human bloodstream.Global62.1
  150. 150Plastic PollutionMicroplastics now found in every human tissue sampled.Global59.2
  151. 151Polio EndemicityTwo countries away from eradication for a decade.Asia—
  152. 152Pollinator LossA third of food crops dependent on declining pollinators.Global—
  153. 153Power Grid FragilityAgeing grids meeting rising electrification demand.Global—
  154. 154Press Freedom DeclineRecord journalist imprisonment and near-total impunity.Global34.7
  155. 155Prison OvercrowdingMass pretrial detention in inhumane conditions.Global—
  156. 156Private Military GroupsDeniable force multiplying conflicts in fragile states.Global—
  157. 157Rapid Unplanned UrbanisationCities growing faster than water, transport or drainage.Global—
  158. 158Religious PersecutionMass detention and restriction of minority faiths.Global—
  159. 159Riverine and Flash FloodingThe most frequent disaster type worldwide.Global—
  160. 160Road Traffic DeathsMore than a million deaths a year, mostly avoidable.Global73.2
  161. 161Rohingya Refugee CrisisA stateless population in indefinite camp confinement with shrinking rations.South Asia37.0
  162. 162Russia-Ukraine WarEurope's largest interstate war since 1945, now in its fourth year.Europe81.8
  163. 163Sahel InsurgencyJihadist expansion across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.Africa58.4
  164. 164Sea Level RisePermanent inundation on a fixed schedule.Global69.1
  165. 165Semiconductor ConcentrationAdvanced chips made in one seismic, contested zone.Asia—
  166. 166Small Arms ProliferationA billion firearms circulating with little tracing.Global—
  167. 167Snakebite EnvenomingA neglected rural killer with an effective treatment that rarely reaches victims.Global21.7
  168. 168Snakebite EnvenomingA hundred thousand deaths a year and an antivenom shortage.Global—
  169. 169Social IsolationMeasurable mortality effects at population scale.Global—
  170. 170Soil DegradationA third of farmland degraded and still eroding.Global58.6
  171. 171Solar Storm RiskA Carrington-class event would take down grids for months.Global—
  172. 172Somalia Conflict and Al-Shabaab InsurgencyInsurgency, clan conflict and repeated drought compound one of the worst humanitarian situations on earth.East Africa51.6
  173. 173Somalia Drought and Child Malnutrition CrisisSomalia's drought emergency is driving a sharp rise in severe child malnutrition, with admissions reportedly nearly tripling in six months.Somalia37.9
  174. 174Somalia InsurgencyAl-Shabaab attacks compounding drought and hunger.Africa—
  175. 175South Caucasus TensionsDisplacement and unresolved borders after Karabakh.Europe—
  176. 176South China Sea DisputesOverlapping claims and repeated maritime confrontations.Asia—
  177. 177South Sudan CrisisPolitical violence, flooding and economic collapse in the world youngest country.East Africa56.7
  178. 178Sovereign Debt DistressDebt service outranking health and education budgets.Global55.6
  179. 179State Digital SurveillanceCommercial spyware as routine repression.Global36.1
  180. 180StatelessnessMillions with no nationality and no rights.Global19.4
  181. 181Sudan Civil WarThe world's largest displacement crisis, largely unreported.Africa70.4
  182. 182Supply Chain FragilityGlobal trade running through a few chokepoints.Global39.5
  183. 183Synthetic MediaEvidence itself becoming cheap to fabricate.Global—
  184. 184Syria ConflictFragmented control, mass displacement and stalled reconstruction.Middle East—
  185. 185Syria Post-War CrisisFourteen years of war left a shattered state, mass displacement and a stalled recovery.Middle East70.9
  186. 186Taiwan Strait TensionsA potential conflict that would be the largest economic shock in modern history.East Asia54.4
  187. 187Taiwan Strait TensionsMilitary pressure around the world's chip supply.Asia—
  188. 188Tax AvoidanceHundreds of billions lost to profit shifting annually.Global—
  189. 189TobaccoEight million deaths a year from a legal product.Global—
  190. 190Tobacco UseThe largest preventable cause of death on earth.Global66.8
  191. 191Trafficked Scam CompoundsForced labour running global online fraud.Asia—
  192. 192Transboundary Water DisputesShared rivers under dam-building and drought stress.Global—
  193. 193Tsunami RiskWarning systems missing across several exposed coasts.Global—
  194. 194TuberculosisThe deadliest infectious disease, and curable.Global55.2
  195. 195Typhoon Noul in ChinaTyphoon Noul has reportedly killed at least 10 people and prompted the evacuation of more than 715,000 residents in China.China25.5
  196. 196Unsafe ConstructionInformal building stock failing under normal loads.Global—
  197. 197Venezuela Migration and Economic CrisisThe largest displacement crisis in the Western Hemisphere.South America48.7
  198. 198Viral HepatitisA curable and preventable infection that still kills more people than malaria.Global44.4
  199. 199Volcanic RiskMillions living within reach of active volcanoes.Global—
  200. 200Water and Sanitation AccessTwo billion people without safely managed water.Global73.7
  201. 201West African Coup BeltA run of military takeovers across the region.Africa—
  202. 202Wildfire IntensificationFire seasons extending past the capacity to fight them.Global—
  203. 203Wildlife TraffickingA multibillion-dollar criminal trade in species.Global—
  204. 204Workplace DeathsNearly three million work-related deaths a year.Global—
  205. 205Yemen CrisisA collapsed state with famine conditions and blockade.Middle East61.6
  206. 206Youth UnemploymentA demographic bulge with nowhere to work.Global37.7