List of recessions in the United Kingdom
Updated: 11/6/2025, 2:06:25 AM Wikipedia source
This is a list of recessions (and depressions) that have affected the economy of the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. In the United Kingdom a recession is generally defined as two successive quarters of negative economic growth, as measured by the seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter figures for real GDP.
Tables
Great Slump
Great Slump
Name
Great Slump
Dates
c. 1430 – c. 1490
Duration
c. 60 years
Causes
Economic blockades during the Hundred Years' War and the Great Bullion Famine
War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
Name
War of the Spanish Succession
Dates
1706
Real GDP reduction
−15%
Causes
War of the Spanish Succession compounded by failure of harvest
The Great Frost
The Great Frost
Name
The Great Frost
Dates
1709
Duration
3 months
Real GDP reduction
−14%
Causes
Failure of harvest caused by the Great Frost
Crisis of 1772
Crisis of 1772
Name
Crisis of 1772
Dates
1772
Causes
Great Bengal famine of 1770
Post-Napoleonic Depression
Post-Napoleonic Depression
Name
Post-Napoleonic Depression
Dates
1812–1821
Duration
c. 9 years
Causes
Post-Napoleonic Wars readjustment
1857–58 recession
1857–58 recession
Name
1857–58 recession
Dates
1857–58
Duration
c. 1 year
Real GDP reduction
c. 1%
Causes
Panic of 1857 (originating in America) as the first global economic crisis, confidence eroded by Palmerston government relaxing the provisions of the Bank Charter Act 1844
Other data
Comparatively brief contraction of approximately 3.5% nominal GDP?
1867–1869 recession
1867–1869 recession
Name
1867–1869 recession
Dates
1867–1869
Duration
c. 2 years
Real GDP reduction
c. 1%
Causes
Impact on exports resulting from American recession post-American Civil War
Other data
1.9% fall in GDP
Long Depression
Long Depression
Name
Long Depression
Dates
1873–1896
Duration
Periodic falls in real GDP over c. 20 years
Real GDP reduction
Deflation but a large rise real GDP
Causes
Panic of 1873
Other data
Previously known as the "Great Depression". Real GDP rose over this period. Agricultural deflation hit farmers and their workers, although industrial output continued to grow.
1919–1926 depression
1919–1926 depression
Name
1919–1926 depression
Dates
1919–1921
Duration
c. 3 years
Real GDP reduction
mw- .mw- 1919 −10.9%1920 – 6.0%1921 – 8.1%9.5%
Causes
The end of World War I
Other data
Deflation c. 10% in 1921, and c. 14% in 1922.
Great Depression
Great Depression
Name
Great Depression
Dates
1930–31
Duration
c. 2 years
Real GDP reduction
1930: −0.7%1931: −5.1%
Causes
US Depression. Reducing demand for UK exports, also high interest rate defending the gold standard.
Other data
UK came off gold standard September 1931. 3–5% deflation pa. UK much less affected than US. Took 16 quarters for GDP to recover to that at start of recession after a 'double dip'.
1956 recession
1956 recession
Name
1956 recession
Dates
1956 Q21956 Q3
Duration
0.5 years(2 Qtrs)
Real GDP reduction
1956 Q2: −0.2%1956 Q3: −0.1%
Causes
Uncompetitive motor industry, inflationary pressures, credit squeeze caused by high bank rate, effects of the Suez crisis – oil embargo by NATO and other Arab countries.
Other data
Average inflation in 1956 totalled 4.9%.[citation needed] Interest rate held at 5.5%, an increase of 1.0% on the previous year.[citation needed]
1961 recession
1961 recession
Name
1961 recession
Dates
1961 Q31961 Q4
Duration
0.5 years(2 Qtrs)
Real GDP reduction
1961 Q3: −0.5%1961 Q4: −0.2%
Causes
Time lag from the 'Rolling Adjustment' recession in America and high bank rate.
Other data
Interest rates were hiked from 5.0% to 7.0% in July 1961, reducing to 6.5% in October 1961 and then to 6.0% from November 1961 onwards.[citation needed]
Mid-1970s recessions
Mid-1970s recessions
Name
Mid-1970s recessions
Dates
1973 Q31973 Q41974 Q1
Duration
0.75 years(3 Qtrs)
Real GDP reduction
1973 Q3: −1.0%1973 Q4: −0.4%1974 Q1: −2.7%
Causes
1973 oil crisis, stagflation, the decline of traditional British industries, inefficient production, high inflation caused industrial disputes over pay.
Other data
The economy surpassed its pre-recession peak by 1976 Q4, fourteen quarters after its beginning. There were two single-quarterly setbacks during the recovery (aside from the double-dip) in 1974 Q4 and 1976 Q2. Average inflation was 9.2% in 1973, 16.0% in 1974, 24.2% in 1975 and 16.5% in 1976.[citation needed] Interest rates fluctuated wildly during the recession with a low of 9.0% in March 1976 and a high of 15.0% in October 1976.
1975 Q21975 Q3
1975 Q21975 Q3
Name
1975 Q21975 Q3
Dates
0.5 years(2 Qtrs)
Duration
1975 Q2: −1.7%1975 Q3: −0.3%
Early 1980s recession
Early 1980s recession
Name
Early 1980s recession
Dates
1980 Q11980 Q21980 Q31980 Q41981 Q1
Duration
1.25 years(5 Qtr)
Real GDP reduction
1980 Q1: −1.7%1980 Q2: −2.0%1980 Q3: −0.2%1980 Q4: −1.0%1981 Q1: −0.3%
Causes
Deflationary government policies including spending cuts, pursuance of monetarism to reduce inflation, switch from a manufacturing economy to a services economy.
Other data
Company earnings decline 35%. Unemployment rises from 5.3% of the working population in August 1979 to 11.9% in 1984. Took thirteen quarters for GDP to recover to its pre-recession peak at the end of 1979. Annual inflation was 18.0% in 1980, 11.9% in 1981, 8.6% in 1982 and 4.6% in 1983.[citation needed] Interest rates generally declined during the recession from a peak of 17.0% at the beginning of 1980 to a low of 9.6% in October 1982.[citation needed]
Early 1990s recession
Early 1990s recession
Name
Early 1990s recession
Dates
1990 Q31990 Q41991 Q11991 Q21991 Q3
Duration
1.25 years(5 Qtrs)
Real GDP reduction
1990 Q3: −1.1%1990 Q4: −0.4%1991 Q1: −0.3%1991 Q2: −0.2%1991 Q3: −0.3%
Causes
US savings and loan crisis, high bank rate in response to rising inflation caused by the Lawson Boom and to maintain British membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
Other data
Company earnings decline 25%. Peak budget deficit c. 8% of GDP. Unemployment rises from 6.9% of the working population in 1990 to 10.7% in 1993. Took eleven quarters for GDP to recover to its pre-recession peak in the Spring of 1990. Annual inflation was 9.5% in 1990, 5.9% in 1991, 3.7% in 1992. and 1.6% in 1993.[citation needed] Interest rates were stubbornly high initially but declined from a high of 14.8% at the start of the recession to a low of 5.9% by the end of the recession,[citation needed] though interest rates were hiked twice during Black Wednesday.
Great Recession
Great Recession
Name
Great Recession
Dates
2008 Q22008 Q32008 Q42009 Q12009 Q2
Duration
1.25 years(5 Qtrs)
Real GDP reduction
2008 Q2: −0.2%2008 Q3: −1.7%2008 Q4: −2.2%2009 Q1: −1.8%2009 Q2: −0.3%
Causes
2008 financial crisis, rising global commodity prices, subprime mortgage crisis infiltrating the British banking sector, significant credit crunch.
Other data
The recession lasted for five quarters and was the deepest UK recession since the Second World War. Manufacturing output declined 7% by end 2008. It affected many sectors including banks and investment firms, with many well known and established businesses having to fold. The unemployment rate rose to 8.3% (2.68m people) in August 2011, the highest level since 1994. There was much speculation of a 'double dip' recession during the 2010s, but this proved not to be the case. However, the 2010s saw four separate periods of quarter-on-quarter fall in growth: 2010 Q4 (−0.4); 2011 Q4 (−0.1); 2012 Q2 (−0.5); and 2012 Q4 (−0.2).
COVID-19 recession
COVID-19 recession
Name
COVID-19 recession
Dates
2020 Q12020 Q2
Duration
0.5 years(2 Qtrs)
Real GDP reduction
2020 Q1: −2.6%2020 Q2: −18.8%
Causes
COVID-19 pandemic
Other data
Majority of the decrease in GDP occurred in March and April 2020 and was followed by a sharp increase in June and July although GDP did not return to pre-pandemic levels until late 2021. The drop, while brief, was the deepest recession since 1709. The event triggered an inflationary shock and a wider cost of living crisis.
2023 recession
2023 recession
Name
2023 recession
Dates
2023 Q32023 Q4
Duration
0.5 years(2 Qtrs)
Real GDP reduction
2023 Q3: -0.1%2023 Q4: -0.3%
Causes
A rise in economically inactive people in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, attributed to long term sickness levels, and a decline in school attendance which may also be driven by sickness rates.
Other data
GDP per capita began to fall in Q2 2022, the longest run of falls or stagnation by that metric since 1955. By February 2024 GDP per capita had shrunk by 4.2% compared to its pre- cost of living crisis peak. The growth in population from record-high immigration had offset this decline in the overall GDP statistics in 2022 and early 2023.
| Name | Dates | Duration | Real GDP reduction | Causes | Other data |
| Great Slump | c. 1430 – c. 1490 | c. 60 years | Economic blockades during the Hundred Years' War and the Great Bullion Famine | ||
| War of the Spanish Succession | 1706 | −15% | War of the Spanish Succession compounded by failure of harvest | ||
| The Great Frost | 1709 | 3 months | −14% | Failure of harvest caused by the Great Frost | |
| Crisis of 1772 | 1772 | Great Bengal famine of 1770 | |||
| Post-Napoleonic Depression | 1812–1821 | c. 9 years | Post-Napoleonic Wars readjustment | ||
| 1857–58 recession | 1857–58 | c. 1 year | c. 1% | Panic of 1857 (originating in America) as the first global economic crisis, confidence eroded by Palmerston government relaxing the provisions of the Bank Charter Act 1844 | Comparatively brief contraction of approximately 3.5% nominal GDP? |
| 1867–1869 recession | 1867–1869 | c. 2 years | c. 1% | Impact on exports resulting from American recession post-American Civil War | fall in GDP |
| Long Depression | 1873–1896 | Periodic falls in real GDP over c. 20 years | Deflation but a large rise real GDP | Panic of 1873 | Previously known as the "Great Depression". Real GDP rose over this period. Agricultural deflation hit farmers and their workers, although industrial output continued to grow. |
| 1919–1926 depression | 1919–1921 | c. 3 years | mw- 1919 −10.9%1920 – 6.0%1921 – 8.1%9.5% | The end of World War I | Deflation c. 10% in 1921, and c. 14% in 1922. |
| Great Depression | 1930–31 | c. 2 years | 1930: −0.7%1931: −5.1% | US Depression. Reducing demand for UK exports, also high interest rate defending the gold standard. | UK came off gold standard September 1931. 3–5% deflation pa. UK much less affected than US. Took 16 quarters for GDP to recover to that at start of recession after a 'double dip'. |
| 1956 recession | 1956 Q21956 Q3 | years(2 Qtrs) | 1956 Q2: −0.2%1956 Q3: −0.1% | Uncompetitive motor industry, inflationary pressures, credit squeeze caused by high bank rate, effects of the Suez crisis – oil embargo by NATO and other Arab countries. | Average inflation in 1956 totalled 4.9%.[citation needed] Interest rate held at 5.5%, an increase of 1.0% on the previous year.[citation needed] |
| 1961 recession | 1961 Q31961 Q4 | years(2 Qtrs) | 1961 Q3: −0.5%1961 Q4: −0.2% | Time lag from the 'Rolling Adjustment' recession in America and high bank rate. | Interest rates were hiked from 5.0% to 7.0% in July 1961, reducing to 6.5% in October 1961 and then to 6.0% from November 1961 onwards.[citation needed] |
| Mid-1970s recessions | 1973 Q31973 Q41974 Q1 | years(3 Qtrs) | 1973 Q3: −1.0%1973 Q4: −0.4%1974 Q1: −2.7% | 1973 oil crisis, stagflation, the decline of traditional British industries, inefficient production, high inflation caused industrial disputes over pay. | The economy surpassed its pre-recession peak by 1976 Q4, fourteen quarters after its beginning. There were two single-quarterly setbacks during the recovery (aside from the double-dip) in 1974 Q4 and 1976 Q2. Average inflation was 9.2% in 1973, 16.0% in 1974, 24.2% in 1975 and 16.5% in 1976.[citation needed] Interest rates fluctuated wildly during the recession with a low of 9.0% in March 1976 and a high of 15.0% in October 1976. |
| 1975 Q21975 Q3 | years(2 Qtrs) | 1975 Q2: −1.7%1975 Q3: −0.3% | |||
| Early 1980s recession | 1980 Q11980 Q21980 Q31980 Q41981 Q1 | years(5 Qtr) | 1980 Q1: −1.7%1980 Q2: −2.0%1980 Q3: −0.2%1980 Q4: −1.0%1981 Q1: −0.3% | Deflationary government policies including spending cuts, pursuance of monetarism to reduce inflation, switch from a manufacturing economy to a services economy. | Company earnings decline 35%. Unemployment rises from 5.3% of the working population in August 1979 to 11.9% in 1984. Took thirteen quarters for GDP to recover to its pre-recession peak at the end of 1979. Annual inflation was 18.0% in 1980, 11.9% in 1981, 8.6% in 1982 and 4.6% in 1983.[citation needed] Interest rates generally declined during the recession from a peak of 17.0% at the beginning of 1980 to a low of 9.6% in October 1982.[citation needed] |
| Early 1990s recession | 1990 Q31990 Q41991 Q11991 Q21991 Q3 | years(5 Qtrs) | 1990 Q3: −1.1%1990 Q4: −0.4%1991 Q1: −0.3%1991 Q2: −0.2%1991 Q3: −0.3% | US savings and loan crisis, high bank rate in response to rising inflation caused by the Lawson Boom and to maintain British membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. | Company earnings decline 25%. Peak budget deficit c. 8% of GDP. Unemployment rises from 6.9% of the working population in 1990 to 10.7% in 1993. Took eleven quarters for GDP to recover to its pre-recession peak in the Spring of 1990. Annual inflation was 9.5% in 1990, 5.9% in 1991, 3.7% in 1992. and 1.6% in 1993.[citation needed] Interest rates were stubbornly high initially but declined from a high of 14.8% at the start of the recession to a low of 5.9% by the end of the recession,[citation needed] though interest rates were hiked twice during Black Wednesday. |
| Great Recession | 2008 Q22008 Q32008 Q42009 Q12009 Q2 | years(5 Qtrs) | 2008 Q2: −0.2%2008 Q3: −1.7%2008 Q4: −2.2%2009 Q1: −1.8%2009 Q2: −0.3% | 2008 financial crisis, rising global commodity prices, subprime mortgage crisis infiltrating the British banking sector, significant credit crunch. | The recession lasted for five quarters and was the deepest UK recession since the Second World War. Manufacturing output declined 7% by end 2008. It affected many sectors including banks and investment firms, with many well known and established businesses having to fold. The unemployment rate rose to 8.3% (2.68m people) in August 2011, the highest level since 1994. There was much speculation of a 'double dip' recession during the 2010s, but this proved not to be the case. However, the 2010s saw four separate periods of quarter-on-quarter fall in growth: 2010 Q4 (−0.4); 2011 Q4 (−0.1); 2012 Q2 (−0.5); and 2012 Q4 (−0.2). |
| COVID-19 recession | 2020 Q12020 Q2 | years(2 Qtrs) | 2020 Q1: −2.6%2020 Q2: −18.8% | COVID-19 pandemic | Majority of the decrease in GDP occurred in March and April 2020 and was followed by a sharp increase in June and July although GDP did not return to pre-pandemic levels until late 2021. The drop, while brief, was the deepest recession since 1709. The event triggered an inflationary shock and a wider cost of living crisis. |
| 2023 recession | 2023 Q32023 Q4 | years(2 Qtrs) | 2023 Q3: -0.1%2023 Q4: -0.3% | A rise in economically inactive people in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, attributed to long term sickness levels, and a decline in school attendance which may also be driven by sickness rates. | GDP per capita began to fall in Q2 2022, the longest run of falls or stagnation by that metric since 1955. By February 2024 GDP per capita had shrunk by 4.2% compared to its pre- cost of living crisis peak. The growth in population from record-high immigration had offset this decline in the overall GDP statistics in 2022 and early 2023. |
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