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Short explainers on the big events in economics, and the latest data stories. Read one, then test yourself.
Explained
The short version of each story, in plain English.
What caused the Great Depression?Explain why the 1929 crash was not the main cause of the Depression, and what turned a slump into a collapse.
What caused the 2008 financial crisis?Explain how falling American house prices turned into a banking crisis that reached Britain.
What is hyperinflation?Explain why hyperinflation happens and how countries have brought it to an end.
What were Thatcher's economic policies?Explain what Thatcher's governments changed in the economy and what those changes cost.
What is quantitative easing?Explain how the Bank of England created money to buy bonds, and what that did to rates, prices and wealth.
What caused the Great Inflation?Explain why prices rose so fast from 1971 to 1982 and how high interest rates finally brought them down.
What caused the eurozone crisis?Explain why the euro area's edge borrowed so heavily and why lenders' panic needed rescues to stop.
What caused the Asian financial crisis?Explain how short-term dollar debts turned Thailand's currency crisis into a regional recession.
Quick answers
Data stories
Charts and the story behind them, from Everything Econ.
Population · 4 October 2026
The Countries Where Populations Are Growing — and Shrinking — the Fastest
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Economy · 2 October 2026
The Countries That Cannot Feed Themselves Without Foreign Help
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Economy · 30 September 2026
The Countries Where Health Eats the Biggest Slice of the Economy
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Economy · 30 September 2026
Who Gets the Biggest Slice? Ranking 83 Countries by Their Richest 10%
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Population · 30 September 2026
Why Some Cities Are Bursting at the Seams While Others Empty Out
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Economy · 29 September 2026
The Countries Where Your Grocery Bill Is Spiralling — and Where It’s Actually Shrinking
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Population · 29 September 2026
The Countries Where Almost No One Is a Child or a Pensioner
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Population · 28 September 2026
The Countries Everyone Is Leaving, and the Ones Everyone Is Reaching
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Economy · 28 September 2026
Debt Piles: Which Economies Have Borrowed the Most Against What They Earn?
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Economy · 28 September 2026
The Other Tax on Your Pay That Never Shows Up in Take-Home Pay
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Economy · 28 September 2026
The Small Islands and Farm States That Live and Die by What They Grow
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Economy · 20 September 2026
The Countries Where a Third of the Economy Comes From Abroad
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Population · 20 September 2026
The Countries Where Almost Everyone Still Lives Outside the City
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Economy · 16 September 2026
The Countries Where an Extra Three Decades of Life Comes as Standard
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Economy · 13 September 2026
Which Countries Actually Pollute the Most, Person for Person?
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Economy · 13 September 2026
The Countries Where Money Is Growing Fastest — and Where It’s Vanishing
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Population · 12 September 2026
The Countries Where Teenage Motherhood Is Still the Norm
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Economy · 7 September 2026
Which Countries Really Take the Biggest Cut of Their Economy?
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Economy · 3 September 2026
The Countries Where Growing Old Is the Norm, Not the Exception
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Economy · 3 September 2026
Cattle by Country 2024: The Brazil-India Paradox Behind the World’s Largest Herds
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Population · 25 August 2026
Which Countries Are Having the Most — and Fewest — Babies?
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Economy · 20 August 2026
What Share of a Country’s Budget Goes to Soldiers, Not Schools?
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Economy · 19 August 2026
Which Country Is Pouring Almost Everything It Earns Into Its Army?
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Economy · 15 August 2026
Why Some Countries Take Nearly Two-Thirds of Your Top Salary — and Others Take None
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Economy · 15 August 2026
The Great Investment Inversion: Why a Developing Nation Now Out-Invests All of Europe
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Economy · 14 August 2026
Stock Market Capitalisation by Country 2026: One Country, Half the World’s Wealth
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Economy · 29 July 2026
Internet Users by Country 2021: The China-India Gap That Refuses to Close
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Economy · 27 July 2026
Millionaires by Country 2024: A Map More Lopsided Than the Numbers Suggest
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Economy · 26 July 2026
Refugees by Host Country 2024: The Myth of the Rich World’s Burden
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Economy · 25 July 2026
Agricultural Output 2025: Asia’s Stranglehold on Global Food Production
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Economy · 24 July 2026
Air Travel 2023: The Ireland Illusion and What the Rankings Actually Measure
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Economy · 23 July 2026
Forest Area 2023: The Five-Country Monopoly Shaping the Planet’s Carbon Future
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Economy · 21 July 2026
Official Gold Reserves: Why Central Banks Are Hoarding Gold at Record Rates
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Economy · 18 July 2026
Manufacturing Output 2024: China Out-Manufactures All of Europe — Combined
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Economy · 18 July 2026
Remittance Inflows by Country 2025: The $800 Billion Map That Defies Intuition
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Economy · 9 July 2026
Scientific Output 2023: China Now Produces More Science Than All of Europe
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Economy · 23 June 2026
Electricity Generation by Country 2023: The World Runs on Three Grids
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