The global economy is facing systemic shocks that could usher in a period of subdued growth, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said on Tuesday in its latest Chief Economists' Outlook.

Some 72 percent of chief economists from public and private sectors surveyed expect global growth to remain weak in 2026, citing trade disruptions, policy uncertainty, rapid technological shifts and strains on resources and institutions.

"The global economy is undergoing a period of profound transformation, marked by persistent short-term disruption and heightened uncertainty as well as long-term structural change," the report states.

The report highlighted widening divergences in growth paths. A majority of economists (56 percent) said the gap between advanced and emerging economies will widen over the next three years. Emerging markets—particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific—are seen as key growth engines.

Debt risks are also spreading. While once concentrated in developing nations, vulnerabilities are now mounting in advanced economies, with 80 percent of respondents expecting debt fragility to intensify in the coming year. Some 41 percent of economists see fiscal weaknesses as a key drag on advanced economies' growth, compared with just 12 percent in developing markets.

Looking ahead, most economists warned that current shocks are structural in nature: 78 percent cited lasting pressures on natural resources and energy, 75 percent pointed to technology and innovation-related disruption, and 63 percent flagged challenges to trade, global value chains and international economic governance.