List of sovereign debt crises

The list of sovereign debt crises involves the inability of independent countries to meet its liabilities as they become due. These include:

• A sovereign default, where a government suspends debt repayments
• A debt restructuring plan, where the government agrees with other countries, or unilaterally reduces its debt repayments
• Requiring assistance from the International Monetary Fund or another international source

Debts could be owed either to private parties within a country, to foreign investors, or to other countries.

Table

The following table includes actual sovereign defaults and debt restructuring of independent countries since 1800.^[1] It is sortable by location or date.

Area	Country	Date	Type, causes, consequences, and references
Europe	France	1812	State spending during the Napoleonic Wars was extremely high due in large manner to the high level of military expenditures.
Europe	Sweden	1812	Military expenditures as a consequence of the Napoleonic Wars.
Europe	Denmark	1813	The Danish state bankruptcy of 1813.[2]
Europe	Netherlands	1814	Instability resulting from the rule of Napoleon I in France
Africa	Egypt	1876	The crisis will cause the ‘Urabi Revolt and the subsequent British invasion of Egypt.
Europe	Germany	1932-07-09	Under the Versailles Treaty ending the First World War, Germany was forced to make war reparations. The Young Plan of 1929 was meant to settle the structure, but after the Wall Street Crash, repayments were becoming impossible. In the Lausanne Conference of 1932, the UK and France agreed to a suspension of payments. The US Congress rejected it, but payments were never continued.
Europe	Romania	1933
Americas	Mexico	1982-08	Finance Minister, Jesus Silva-Herzog, declared that it was unable to meet its debt repayment obligations as world interest rates had sharply increased since 1979. This signalled the start of a widespread Latin American debt crisis.
Europe	Yugoslavia	1983
Asia	Thailand	1997-07	1997 Asian financial crisis.
Europe	Russia	1998-08-17	After world commodity prices dropped on major Russian exports (particularly metals and oil) the 1998 Russian financial crisis ensued. Mounting debts led to the government declaring a moratorium on payments to international creditors.
Americas	Argentina	2001-12	Following years of instability, the Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002) came to a head, and a new government announced it could not meet its public debt obligations. See Argentine debt restructuring.
Europe	Greece	2015-06-30	Due to the Greek government-debt crisis, Greece failed to make a €1.6bn payment to the IMF.
Asia	Republic of China (1912–49)	1921
Asia	Republic of China (1912–49)	1932	[2]
Asia	Republic of China (1912–49)	1939
Asia	Japan	1942
Asia	Japan	1946–1952	[2]
Asia	India	1958
Asia	India	1969
Asia	India	1972	[3]
Asia	Indonesia	1966
Asia	Iran	1992
Asia	Iraq	1990
Asia	Jordan	1989
Asia	Kuwait	1990–1991	[2]
Asia	Myanmar	1984	[2]
Asia	Myanmar	1987	[2]
Asia	Myanmar	2002
Asia	Mongolia	1997–2000	[2]
Asia	The Philippines	1983
Asia	Solomon Islands	1995–2004	[2]
Asia	Sri Lanka	1980
Asia	Sri Lanka	1982
Asia	Sri Lanka	1996	[2]
Asia	Turkey	1876
Asia	Turkey	1915
Asia	Turkey	1931
Asia	Turkey	1940
Asia	Turkey	1978
Asia	Turkey	1982
Asia	Vietnam	1975	[2]
Europe	Albania	1990
Europe	Archduchy of Austria	1796
Europe	Archduchy of Austria	1802
Europe	Austrian Empire	1805
Europe	Austrian Empire	1811
Europe	Austrian Empire	1816
Europe	Austria-Hungary	1868
Europe	Austria	1938
Europe	Austria	1940
Europe	Austria	1945	[2]
Europe	Bulgaria	1932
Europe	Bulgaria	1990
Europe	Croatia	1993–1996	[2]
Europe	Germany	1939
Europe	Germany	1948	See London Agreement on German External Debts[2]
Europe	Germany -  Hesse	1814
Europe	Germany -  Prussia	1807
Europe	Germany -  Prussia	1813
Europe	Germany -  Schleswig-Holstein	1850
Europe	Germany -  Westphalia	1812
Europe	Greece	1826
Europe	Greece	1843
Europe	Greece	1860
Europe	Greece	1893
Europe	Greece	1932
Europe	Greece	2012	[4]
Europe	Hungary	1932
Europe	Hungary	1941
Europe	Poland	1936
Europe	Poland	1940
Europe	Poland	1981
Europe	Portugal	1828
Europe	Portugal	1837
Europe	Portugal	1841
Europe	Portugal	1845
Europe	Portugal	1852
Europe	Portugal	1890
Europe	Russia	1839
Europe	Russia	1885
Europe	Russia	1918
Europe	Russia	1947	[2]
Europe	Russia	1957	[2]
Europe	Russia	1991
Europe	Spain	1809
Europe	Spain	1820
Europe	Spain	1831
Europe	Spain	1834
Europe	Spain	1851
Europe	Spain	1867
Europe	Spain	1872
Europe	Spain	1882
Europe	Spain	1936–1939	[2]
Europe	Sweden	1812
Europe	Ukraine	1998–2000	[2]
Europe	Ukraine	2016	[5]
Europe	United Kingdom	1822
Europe	United Kingdom	1834
Europe	United Kingdom	1888–89
Europe	United Kingdom	1932	See War bond § United Kingdom[6][2]
Europe	Yugoslavia	1983	Did not default directly; default was split between the nations once part of Yugoslavia
Africa	Algeria	1991
Africa	Angola	1976	[2]
Africa	Angola	1985
Africa	Angola	1992–2002	[2]
Africa	Cameroon	2004	[2]
Africa	Central African Republic	1981
Africa	Central African Republic	1983
Africa	Congo (Kinshasa)	1979	[2]
Africa	Côte d'Ivoire	1983
Africa	Côte d'Ivoire	2000
Africa	Côte d'Ivoire	2011
Africa	Gabon	1999–2005	[2]
Africa	Ghana	1979
Africa	Ghana	1982	[2]
Africa	Liberia	1989–2006	[2]
Africa	Madagascar	2002	[2]
Africa	Mozambique	1980	[2]
Africa	Rwanda	1995	[2]
Africa	Sierra Leone	1997–1998	[2]
Africa	Sudan	1991	[2]
Africa	Tunisia Tunisia	1867
Africa	Tunisia Tunisia	1986	[7]
Africa	Egypt	1984
Africa	Kenya	1994
Africa	Kenya	2000
Africa	Morocco	1983
Africa	Morocco	1994
Africa	Morocco	2000
Africa	Nigeria	1982
Africa	Nigeria	1986
Africa	Nigeria	1992
Africa	Nigeria	2001
Africa	Nigeria	2004
Africa	South Africa	1985
Africa	South Africa	1989
Africa	South Africa	1993
Africa	Zambia	1983
Africa	Zimbabwe	1965
Africa	Zimbabwe	2000
Africa	Zimbabwe	2006	See Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe[2]
Americas	Antigua and Barbuda	1998–2005	[2]
Americas	Argentina	1827
Americas	Argentina	1890
Americas	Argentina	1951
Americas	Argentina	1956
Americas	Argentina	1982	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Argentina	1989	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Argentina	2014	[8][9]
Americas	Bolivia	1875
Americas	Bolivia	1927	[2]
Americas	Bolivia	1931
Americas	Bolivia	1980	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Bolivia	1986	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Bolivia	1989	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Brazil	1898
Americas	Brazil	1902
Americas	Brazil	1914
Americas	Brazil	1931
Americas	Brazil	1937
Americas	Brazil	1961
Americas	Brazil	1964
Americas	Brazil	1983	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Brazil	1986–1987	[2]
Americas	Brazil	1990	[2]
Americas	Canada -  Alberta	1935	[2]
Americas	Chile	1826
Americas	Chile	1880
Americas	Chile	1931
Americas	Chile	1961
Americas	Chile	1963
Americas	Chile	1966
Americas	Chile	1972
Americas	Chile	1974
Americas	Chile	1983	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Colombia	1826
Americas	Colombia	1850
Americas	Colombia	1873
Americas	Colombia	1880
Americas	Colombia	1900
Americas	Colombia	1932
Americas	Colombia	1935
Americas	Costa Rica	1828
Americas	Costa Rica	1874
Americas	Costa Rica	1895
Americas	Costa Rica	1901
Americas	Costa Rica	1932
Americas	Costa Rica	1962
Americas	Costa Rica	1981	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Costa Rica	1983	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Costa Rica	1984	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Dominica	2003–2005	[2]
Americas	Dominican Republic	1872
Americas	Dominican Republic	1892
Americas	Dominican Republic	1897
Americas	Dominican Republic	1899
Americas	Dominican Republic	1931
Americas	Dominican Republic	1975-2001	Latin American debt crisis[2]
Americas	Dominican Republic	2005
Americas	Ecuador	1826
Americas	Ecuador	1868
Americas	Ecuador	1894
Americas	Ecuador	1906
Americas	Ecuador	1909
Americas	Ecuador	1914
Americas	Ecuador	1929
Americas	Ecuador	1982
Americas	Ecuador	1984
Americas	Ecuador	2000
Americas	Ecuador	2008
Americas	El Salvador	1828
Americas	El Salvador	1876
Americas	El Salvador	1894
Americas	El Salvador	1899
Americas	El Salvador	1921
Americas	El Salvador	1932
Americas	El Salvador	1938
Americas	El Salvador	1981–1996	[2]
Americas	Grenada	2004–2005	[2]
Americas	Guatemala	1933
Americas	Guatemala	1986
Americas	Guatemala	1989	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Guyana	1982
Americas	Honduras	1828
Americas	Honduras	1873
Americas	Honduras	1981	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Jamaica	1978
Americas	Mexico	1827
Americas	Mexico	1833
Americas	Mexico	1844
Americas	Mexico	1850	[2]
Americas	Mexico	1866
Americas	Mexico	1898
Americas	Mexico	1914
Americas	Mexico	1928–1930s
Americas	Mexico	1982	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Nicaragua	1828
Americas	Nicaragua	1894
Americas	Nicaragua	1911
Americas	Nicaragua	1915
Americas	Nicaragua	1932
Americas	Nicaragua	1979
Americas	Panama	1932
Americas	Panama	1983	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Panama	1987	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Panama	1988–1989	[2]
Americas	Paraguay	1874
Americas	Paraguay	1892
Americas	Paraguay	1920
Americas	Paraguay	1932
Americas	Paraguay	1986	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Paraguay	2003
Americas	Peru	1826
Americas	Peru	1850	[2]
Americas	Peru	1876
Americas	Peru	1931
Americas	Peru	1969
Americas	Peru	1976
Americas	Peru	1978
Americas	Peru	1980	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Peru	1984	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Puerto Rico	2016
Americas	Surinam	2001–2002	[2]
Americas	Trinidad and Tobago	1989
Americas	United States	1779	Devaluation of Continental Dollar
Americas	United States	1790
Americas	United States	1798	See Quasi-War
Americas	United States	1862	[10]
Americas	United States	1933	See Executive Order 6102[2]
Americas	United States	1971	Nixon Shock
Americas	United States - 9 states	1841–1842	[2]
Americas	United States - 10 states and many local governments	1873–83 or 1884	[2]
Americas	Uruguay	1876
Americas	Uruguay	1891
Americas	Uruguay	1915
Americas	Uruguay	1933
Americas	Uruguay	1937	[2]
Americas	Uruguay	1983	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Uruguay	1987	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Uruguay	1990
Americas	Venezuela	1826
Americas	Venezuela	1848
Americas	Venezuela	1860
Americas	Venezuela	1865
Americas	Venezuela	1892
Americas	Venezuela	1898
Americas	Venezuela	1982	Latin American debt crisis
Americas	Venezuela	1990
Americas	Venezuela	1995–1997	[2]
Americas	Venezuela	1998	[2]
Americas	Venezuela	2004

See also

• List of corporate collapses
• List of stock market crashes and bear markets
• List of largest U.S. bank failures
• Currency crisis
• Government debt
• War reparations
• Global settlement

References

1. Reinhart, Carmen M.; Rogoff, Kenneth S. (2009). This time is different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly (p. 23, 87, 91, 95, 96). Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-14216-5.
2. The Forgotten History of Domestic Debt, Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff, 17. April 2008, NBER, p.41ff
3. https://books.google.pl/books?id=kPYXpHSVbywC&pg=PA627&lpg=PA627&dq=india+debt+default+1958&source=bl&ots=PaNMWYyuRK&sig=i6Pc4iQ5Jgv_-2sIXBfML-XHNsI&hl=pl&sa=X&ei=KDyRVf6nG4P5UKK1i5gM&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=india%20debt%20default%201958&f=false
4. Zettelmeyer, Jeromin; Trebesch, Christoph; Gulati, Mitu (July 2013). The Greek Debt Restructuring - An Autopsy.
5. "Украина к исходу 31 декабря не заплатила Москве 3 миллиарда долларов для погашения и обслуживания долга.". Echo of Moscow. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
6. https://www.bondvigilantes.com/blog/2010/02/02/what-happened-the-last-time-the-uk-defaulted/
7. MZ Bechri. "The Political Economy of Development Policy in Tunisia" (PDF). The University of Tunisia. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
8. Russo, Camila (2014-07-31). "Argentina Declared in Default by S&P as Talks Fail". Bloomberg.
9. D&Apos, Andres (2014-07-31). "Argentina defaults on international debt, blames U.S". Los Angeles Times.
10. A Short History of US Credit Defaults, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 15 July 2011

Further reading

• Reinhart, Carmen M.; Rogoff, Kenneth S. (2009). This time is different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly (p. 23, 87, 91, 95, 96). Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-14216-5.

See also

• London Club
• Paris Club