What a Fragmenting Digital Economy Means for Global Competition

Digitalization has reshaped the global economy for 25 years, but emerging forces—from U.S.–China tech rivalry and geopolitics to AI’s uneven impacts—are fragmenting what was once a more unified digital landscape. The 2026 Digital Evolution Index reveals that digital progress is now shaped as much by power competition, regulation, and computing capacity as by markets and technology. As a result, business leaders must rethink where and how digital value will be created, building strategic optionality to navigate divergent digital trajectories, rapid technological leaps, and declining global trust.