Global uncertainty hits all-time high, worse than during COVID-19, 2008 crisis & 9/11 attacks

Global uncertainty hit an all-time high in third quarter of 2025 at 1,06,862.2, according to World Uncertainty Index (WUI) data. This is much higher than the levels hit during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, 2008 financial crash or 9/11 terror attack in 2001. WUI tracks the number of times "uncertain" (or its variants) is used in Economist Intelligence Unit country reports.