List of sovereign debt crises

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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.

The following table includes actual sovereign defaults and debt restructuring of independent countries since 1557.^[1]

Country	Date	Type, causes, consequences, and references
Algeria	1991	[citation needed]
Angola	1976	[2]
	1985
	1992–2002	[2]
Cameroon	2004	[2]
Central African Republic	1981	[citation needed]
	1983	[citation needed]
Côte d'Ivoire	1983	[citation needed]
	2000	[citation needed]
	2011	[citation needed]
Egypt	1876	The crisis caused the ʻUrabi revolt and the subsequent British invasion of Egypt.
Egypt	1984	[citation needed]
Gabon	1999–2005	[2]
Ghana	1979	[citation needed]
	1982	[2]
	2022	[3]
Liberia	1989–2006	[2]
Kenya	1994	[citation needed]
	2000	[citation needed]
Madagascar	2002	[2]
Morocco	1983	[citation needed]
	1994	[citation needed]
	2000	[citation needed]
Mozambique	1980	[2]
Nigeria	1982	[citation needed]
	1986	[citation needed]
	1992	[citation needed]
	2001	[citation needed]
	2004	[citation needed]
Rhodesia	1965	[citation needed]
Rwanda	1995	[2]
Sierra Leone	1997–98	[2]
South Africa	1985	[citation needed]
	1989	[citation needed]
	1993	[citation needed]
Sudan	1991	[2]
Tunisia	1867	[citation needed]
	1986	[4]
Zaire	1979	[2]
Zambia	1983	[citation needed]
	2020	Default due to high debt levels following pandemic and commodity price drops. Followed by IMF bailout, 2022. [5]
Zimbabwe	2000	[citation needed]
	2006	See Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe[2]

Country	Date	Type, causes, consequences, and references
China	1921	[2]
	1932	[2]
	1939	[2]
Indonesia	1966	[6]
Iran	1990	[citation needed]
	1992	[citation needed]
Japan	1942	[citation needed]
	1946–52	Due to an over-issued national bond amounting to more than twice as GDP, bank accounts were blocked (bank blockade [ja]) [2]
Jordan	1989	[citation needed]
Kuwait	1990–91	[2]
Lebanon	2020	Lebanon defaulted on US$1.2 billion in Eurobonds.[7]
Myanmar	1984	[2]
	1987	[2]
	2002	[citation needed]
Mongolia	1997–2000	[2]
North Korea	1975–1990	[8]
Ottoman Empire	1876	[citation needed]
	1915	[citation needed]
The Philippines	1983	[citation needed]
Sri Lanka	2022	2019–present Sri Lankan economic crisis[9][10]
Thailand	1997–2007	1997 Asian financial crisis.
Turkey	1931	[citation needed]
	1940	[citation needed]
	1978	[citation needed]
	1982	[citation needed]
Vietnam	1975	[2]

Country	Date	Type, causes, consequences, and references
Albania	1990	[citation needed]
Archduchy of Austria	1796	[citation needed]
	1802	[citation needed]
Austrian Empire	1811	[11]
	1816	Caused by the War of the Sixth Coalition. Ended by the establishment of Austria's central bank Oesterreichische Nationalbank.[11]
	1868	[citation needed]
Austria	1945	[2]
Bulgaria	1932	[citation needed]
	1990	[citation needed]
Croatia	1993–96	[2]
Cyprus	2012-2013	2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis
Denmark	1813	Danish state bankruptcy of 1813.[2]
Kingdom of France	1788	On 17 August 1788, the royal treasury began paying creditors in IOUs rather than money after service on debt (mainly from the Seven Years' War and American War of Independence) had depleted the royal treasury to just 400,000 livres (one day's worth of state expenses). To restore state credit, the royal ministry called the Estates General of 1789 to make structural reforms to state revenue.[12]
France	1797	Deflation after the withdrawal of the assignat and mandat territorial led Finance Minister Dominique-Vincent Ramel-Nogaret to repudiate of 2/3 of French state debt.[13]
Germany	1812	State spending during the Napoleonic Wars was extremely high due in large manner to the high level of military expenditures.
	1932	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 in the Great Depression repayments became impossible. In the Lausanne Conference of 1932, the UK and France agreed to a suspension of payments. The US Congress rejected it, but payments ceased until the implementation of the London Agreement on German External Debts in 1953.
	1939	[citation needed]
	1948	See London Agreement on German External Debts[2]
Hesse	1814	[citation needed]
Prussia	1807	[citation needed]
	1813	[citation needed]
Schleswig-Holstein	1850	[citation needed]
Westphalia	1812	[citation needed]
Greece	1843	[citation needed]
	1860	[citation needed]
	1893	[citation needed]
	1932	[citation needed]
	2012	[14]
	2015	Due to the Greek government-debt crisis, Greece failed to make a €1.6 billion payment to the IMF on time (payment was made with a 20-day delay[15][16]).
Hungary	1932	[citation needed]
	1941	[citation needed]
Poland	1936	[citation needed]
	1981	[citation needed]
Netherlands	1814	Instability resulting from the rule of Napoleon I in France
Portugal	1828	[citation needed]
	1837	[citation needed]
	1841	[citation needed]
	1845	[citation needed]
	1852	[citation needed]
	1890	[citation needed]
	2011	[citation needed]
Romania	1933	[citation needed]
Russia	1839	[citation needed]
	1885	[citation needed]
	1918	Repudiation of Tsarist debts by Bolshevik revolutionaries.[17]
	1998	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.
	2022	2022 Russian debt default[18]
Soviet Union	1947	[2]
	1957	[2]
Spain	1557	[19][better source needed]
	1575	[19][better source needed]
	1596	[19][better source needed]
	1607	[19][better source needed]
	1627	[19][better source needed]
	1647	[19][better source needed]
	1652	[19][better source needed]
	1662	[19][better source needed]
	1666	[19][better source needed]
	1809	[citation needed]
	1820	[citation needed]
	1831	[citation needed]
	1834	[citation needed]
	1851	[citation needed]
	1867	[citation needed]
	1872	[citation needed]
	1882	[citation needed]
	1936–39	[2]
Sweden	1812	Military expenditures as a consequence of the Napoleonic Wars.[citation needed]
Ukraine	1998–2000	[2]
Yugoslavia	1983	Avoided default through a multinational emergency loan.[citation needed]

Country	Date	Type, causes, consequences, and references
Antigua and Barbuda	1998–2005	[2]
Barbados	2018	Defaulted on its Eurobonds after the uncovering of its high sovereign debt in terms of debt-to-GDP ratio.[20]
Costa Rica	1828	[citation needed]
	1874	[citation needed]
	1895	[citation needed]
	1901	[citation needed]
	1932	[citation needed]
	1962	[citation needed]
	1981	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1983	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1984	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
Dominica	2003–05	[2]
Dominican Republic	1872	[citation needed]
	1892	[citation needed]
	1897	[citation needed]
	1899	[citation needed]
	1931	[citation needed]
	1975–2001	Latin American debt crisis[2]
	2005	[citation needed]
El Salvador	1828	[citation needed]
	1876	[citation needed]
	1894	[citation needed]
	1899	[citation needed]
	1921	[citation needed]
	1932	[citation needed]
	1938	[citation needed]
	1981–96	[2]
Grenada	2004–05	[2]
Guatemala	1933	[citation needed]
	1986	[citation needed]
	1989	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
Guyana	1982	[citation needed]
Honduras	1828	[citation needed]
	1873	[citation needed]
	1981	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
Jamaica	1978	[citation needed]
Mexico	1827	[citation needed]
	1833	[citation needed]
	1844	[citation needed]
	1850	[2]
	1866	[citation needed]
	1898	[citation needed]
	1914	[citation needed]
	1928–30s	[citation needed]
	1982	Latin American debt crisis
Nicaragua	1828	[citation needed]
	1894	[citation needed]
	1911	[citation needed]
	1915	[citation needed]
	1932	[citation needed]
	1979	[citation needed]
Panama	1932	[citation needed]
	1983	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1987	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1988–89	[2]
Trinidad and Tobago	1989	[citation needed]
United States	1790	Crisis began in 1782. Ended by the Compromise of 1790 and the Funding Act of 1790.[21][22][better source needed]
	1933	Suspension of federal payments in gold amid a bank crisis and international run on gold reserves[23][2]
	1953	Congress refuses to raise the United States debt ceiling, forcing the federal government to reduce spending, monetize gold, and use cash balances with banks until the ceiling was eventually raised.
	1995-96	Congress fails to reach agreement with President Clinton on the budget, resulting in the United States federal government shutdowns of 1995–1996; Republicans also threaten not to raise the debt ceiling
	2011	2011 United States debt-ceiling crisis
	2013	2013 United States debt-ceiling crisis
	2023	2023 United States debt-ceiling crisis

Country	Date	Type, causes, consequences, and references
Argentina	1827	Default.[24]
	1890	Baring crisis[24]
	1982	Latin American debt crisis[24]
	1988–89	Latin American debt crisis[24]
	2001	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.[24]
	2005–16	Argentine debt restructuring.
	2014	[25][26]
	2020	[27]
Bolivia	1875	[citation needed]
	1927	[2]
	1931	[citation needed]
	1980	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1986	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1989	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
Brazil	1898	[citation needed]
	1902	[citation needed]
	1914	[citation needed]
	1931	[citation needed]
	1937	[citation needed]
	1961	[citation needed]
	1964	[citation needed]
	1983	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1986–87	[2]
	1990	[2]
Chile	1826	[citation needed]
	1880	[citation needed]
	1931	[citation needed]
	1961	[citation needed]
	1963	[citation needed]
	1966	[citation needed]
	1972	[citation needed]
	1974	[citation needed]
	1983	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
Colombia	1826	[citation needed]
	1850	[citation needed]
	1873	[citation needed]
	1880	[citation needed]
	1900	[citation needed]
	1932	[citation needed]
	1935	[citation needed]
Ecuador	1826	[citation needed]
	1868	[citation needed]
	1894	[citation needed]
	1906	[citation needed]
	1909	[citation needed]
	1914	[citation needed]
	1929	[citation needed]
	1982	[citation needed]
	1984	[citation needed]
	2000	[citation needed]
	2008	[citation needed]
	2020	[28][29]
Paraguay	1874	The payment of loans taken in the English market between 1871-72 was stopped due to bad economic conditions[30]
	1892	[citation needed]
	1920	The payment of foreign loans was once again suspended due to adverse economic and political conditions[31]
	1932	[citation needed]
	1986	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	2003	[citation needed]
Peru	1826	[citation needed]
	1850	[2]
	1876	[citation needed]
	1931	[citation needed]
	1969	[citation needed]
	1976	[citation needed]
	1978	[citation needed]
	1980	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1984	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
Suriname	2020	https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/s-p-fitch-downgrade-suriname-reflecting-default-event-59414975
Suriname	2001–02
Uruguay	1876	[citation needed]
	1891	[citation needed]
	1915	[citation needed]
	1933	[citation needed]
	1937	[2]
	1983	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1987	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1990	[citation needed]
Venezuela	1826	[citation needed]
	1848	[citation needed]
	1860	[citation needed]
	1865	[citation needed]
	1892	[citation needed]
	1898	[citation needed]
	1982	Latin American debt crisis[citation needed]
	1990	[citation needed]
	1995–97	[2]
	1998	[2]
	2004	[citation needed]
	2017	Venezuela defaulted on US$65 billion in external debt in November 2017 after years of unsustainable borrowing and a crash in global oil prices.[32]

Country	Date	Type, causes, consequences, and references
Australia	1931	Australia defaulted on its entire stock of domestic debt owed to bond and note holders. See Great Depression in Australia
Solomon Islands	1995–2004	[2]

• Reinhart, Carmen M.; Rogoff, Kenneth S. (2009). This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly. Princeton University Press. pp. 23, 87, 91, 95, 96. ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6.