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The most severe recessions of all time

Catastrophic economic downturns that rocked the world
10. Early 1990s recession
10. Early 1990s recession
10. Early 1990s recession
9. Post-World War I recession
9. Post-World War I recession
9. Post-World War I recession
8. Panic of 1857 recession
8. Panic of 1857 recession
8. Panic of 1857 recession
7. Early 1970s recession
7. Early 1970s recession
7. Early 1970s recession
6. Early 1980s recession
6. Early 1980s recession
6. Early 1980s recession
5. Great Recession
5. Great Recession
5. Great Recession
4. Post-Napoleonic depression
4. Post-Napoleonic depression
4. Post-Napoleonic depression
3. Long Depression
3. Long Depression
3. Long Depression
2. Great Depression
2. Great Depression
2. Great Depression
1. General Crisis
1. General Crisis
1. General Crisis
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Corbis/Getty

Catastrophic economic downturns that rocked the world

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered the deepest planetwide recession in decades with the World Bank warning global GDP could contract by a painful 5.2% this year. Yet while the slump is likely to be harsh, a number of past recessions were significantly worse. Click or scroll through to find out the 10 most severe economic downturns of all time.

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Daniel Coughlin

19 June 2020

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