These are the 19 things that scare businesses the most right now

Large-scale natural disasters like earthquakes, forest fires, and volcanic eruptions — such as the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, which caused global aviation chaos — can wreak havoc with businesses. That's why 11.9% see it as a huge risk.

As Britain saw with the December floods, severe weather can seriously curtail a business' ability to operate. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy even forced the US's biggest stock exchanges to shut for two days, causing significant impact on worldwide markets. 12% of WEF respondents ranked it as one of the five biggest risks.

Obviously, an unstable political system causes big problems for businesses. If you don't know who's in charge of the country you're operating in, doing business is going to be incredibly challenging. That's why 13.7% of respondents see state collapse as one of the biggest risks they face.

Overall, 14% of the people the WEF asked said that a water crisis, such as a drought, was one of the five biggest risks facing business right now. Those surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East generally ranked potential of a water crisis as a bigger risk than elsewhere in the world.

Terrorist attacks, in any form, and of any size, have a terrifying and destabilising impact on the world, and can really affect the ability of businesses to function. Perhaps unsurprisingly, business leaders in the Middle East were more likely to see terrorism as a big threat than elsewhere. In total, 14.3% of people the WEF asked said terrorism was a top five issue.

Failed urban planning is seen as a big problem in many developing nations, with respondents from Lesotho, the Ivory Coast, and Mongolia rating it as one of their big concerns. In total, 14.8% of WEF respondents ranked it in their top five risks to business.

With the world becoming increasingly dependent on technology, having data stolen or used fraudulently is a massive worry. In total, 15.1% of leaders said it was one of the biggest threats to business, while the US was the country most worried. 46.9% in the country said it was a top concern.

Just like data fraud, the more widespread technology gets, the bigger the risk of a cyber attack becomes. While only 15.6% of all WEF respondents saw a cyber attack as a big risk, crucial global nations like the the US, Japan, and Singapore all rated it as the biggest risk to business.

Wars cause political and social instability, and that in turn creates a problem for businesses wanting to be successful. Poland, probably given its proximity to feuding Ukraine and Russia, ranked inter-state conflict as its biggest risk to business, with 79% saying it was one of their chief concerns. Overall, it ranked in the top five risks of 17.6% of respondents.

When inflation gets out of control it makes valuing goods very difficult, which for a business, is pretty crucial. That's why 18.9% of people surveyed by the WEF see it as one of the biggest risks. Unsurprisingly Venezuela — where spiralling inflation has made it difficult for the average citizen to afford food — ranked high inflation as its biggest risk to business

When big infrastructure projects like public transport, or the internet, fail, it can be a critical problem. For instance, in the 21st century, very few businesses can function without the internet, hence 19.3% of WEF respondents ranking this as one of the biggest risks.

Asset bubbles, like the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US in the 2000s, are a big fear for businesses across the world, with 20.7% of all those surveyed saying they're a big risk. European nations, including Sweden — where a housing bubble is rapidly inflating — Britain, and Iceland, are some of the countries most worried about the effects of bubbles on the business community.

When American investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, it set in motion the biggest financial crisis in nearly a century. Global businesses are understandably worried about this sort of thing and as result 22.1% ranked it as one of the biggest risks they face right now.

23.9% of those surveyed by the WEF see social instability as a large risk to business. People asked in Eastern Europe were the most likely to worry about social instability affecting businesses, reflecting tensions over the mass inflow of migrants into the region.

Much like the risk of whole states collapsing, the potential for governance to fail is a real worry to businesses, particularly in Latin America, where people from several countries ranked it as their biggest concern. Overall, 27.7% of respondents see the failure of national governance as a big risk.

The financial crisis of 2007-08 sent thousands, if not millions, of businesses into chaos, and that hasn't been forgotten by the global business community. 31.3% of those surveyed see a new financial crisis as one of the biggest risks facing them right now.

With the price of oil plummeting, global companies and economies are struggling to adjust. The energy markets are so volatile right now that no one really knows what's going to happen. That's reflected in the 35.5% of people surveyed who see an energy price shock as a huge risk to global business.

Unemployment poses by far the biggest risk to businesses according to the leaders asked by the WEF. 37% of all those surveyed said it was one of the most important problems, with dozens of nations ranking it their biggest concern.