BoC-BoE Sovereign Default Database
Database description
Until recently, few efforts have been made to systematically measure and aggregate the nominal value of the different types of sovereign government debt in default. To help fill this gap, in 2014 the Bank of Canada (BoC) developed a comprehensive of database of sovereign defaults that is updated annually in partnership with the Bank of England (BoE). The database draws on previously published datasets compiled by various public and private sector sources. It combines elements of these, together with new information, to develop comprehensive estimates of stocks of government obligations in default. These include bonds and other marketable securities, bank loans and official loans, valued in US dollars, for the years 1960 to 2020 on both a country-by-country and a global basis. This update of the BoC-BoE database, and future updates, are useful to researchers analyzing the economic and financial effects of individual sovereign defaults and, importantly, the impact on global financial stability of episodes involving multiple sovereign defaults.
Suggested citation for this webpage: David Beers, Elliot Jones and John Fraser Walsh CFA (2021), BoC-BoE Sovereign Default Database
Latest Publications
- BoC-BoE Sovereign Default Database - What's New in 2021? (PDF)
by David Beers, Elliot Jones and John Fraser Walsh CFA
An overview of the 2021 update
- Sovereign Default Database: Methodology, Assumptions and Sources (PDF)
by David Beers, Elliot Jones and John Fraser Walsh CFA
Background on the methodology used to compile the Database
Special topics:
Earlier Publications
- Sovereign Default Database - What’s New in 2019? Staff Working Paper 829 by David Beers and Patrisha de Leon-Manlagnit.
- A Closer Look at the BoC-BoE Sovereign Default Database Bank Underground post by David Beers and Jamshid Mavalwalla.
