Experts surveyed by the World Economic Forum say rising income gaps between rich and poor and burgeoning government deficits are the risks most likely to have a global impact over the next decade.

Climate change, water shortages and aging populations rounded out the WEF's top five risks.

The over 1,000 experts surveyed for the Switzerland-based forum's annual risk report also warn that risk factors could combine to produce unique problems. These risk combinations included climate change putting a heavy burden on a global economy and a declining economy in turn hurting efforts to fight global warming.

The experts also identified increasing resistance of germs to antibiotics as a global health threat.  Another new worry is a ``digital wildfire'' of wrong or controversial information going viral across online communities.

(AP)