Visual History of Financial Crises

This graphic is based on the best selling This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly by Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff. Using data developed by Reinhart and Rogoff, it maps the cyclical history of financial crisis from 1810 to 2010 for sixty-six countries representing 90% of world GDP. The giant wave in the top section of the graphic depicts the percentage of world GDP by region in crisis during the 200 year period. The bottom section provides a detailed chart of all sovereign defaults by country, region and year. It shows the repeating nature of sovereign default, a central theme of Reinhart and Rogoff's book. Created in partnership with the Princeton University Press, this graphic provides a comprehensive yet accessible view into the historical and current cycles of financial crises.