OBR forecasts show that the economy will contract by 11.3% this year, the biggest decline in three centuries

2020 – Covid-19

UK GDP is expected to collapse by 11.3% this year, the worst since 1709

1 1709: The Great Frost

The economy is dragged down as frozen rivers, canals and seaports disrupt trade across Europe.

2 1815: The end of the Napoleonic wars at the battle of Waterloo was followed by economic depression. Poor harvests and the Corn Laws pushed up food prices and clamour for political reform led to the Peterloo massacre in 1819, and foundation of the Manchester Guardian two years later.

3 Post WW1 slump

The biggest downturn of the past two centuries came after WW1 and the Spanish flu pandemic, which killed more people than the conflict. Growth returned in 1922 but aftershocks led to the 1926 general strike, which caused another recession.

4 Financial crisis

The collapse that followed the banking crisis was the worst since WW2. It began in 2007–08 and a decade of anaemic recovery, made worse by austerity, followed.

2020 – Covid-19

UK GDP is expected to collapse by 11.3% this year, the worst since 1709

1 1709: The Great Frost

The economy is dragged down as frozen rivers, canals and seaports disrupt trade across Europe.

2 1815: The end of the Napoleonic wars at the battle of Waterloo was followed by economic depression. Poor harvests and the Corn Laws pushed up food prices and clamour for political reform led to the Peterloo massacre in 1819, and foundation of the Manchester Guardian two years later.

3 Post WW1 slump

The biggest downturn of the past two centuries came after WW1 and the Spanish flu pandemic, which killed more people than the conflict. Growth returned in 1922 but aftershocks led to the 1926 general strike, which caused another recession.

4 Financial crisis

The collapse that followed the banking crisis was the worst since WW2. It began in 2007–08 and a decade of anaemic recovery, made worse by austerity, followed.