The list of sovereign debt crises involves the inability of independent countries to meet its liabilities as they become due. These include:
A sovereign default, where a government suspends debt repayments
A debt restructuring plan, where the government agrees with other countries, or unilaterally reduces its debt repayments Requiring assistance from the International Monetary Fund or another international source
Debts could be owed either to private parties within a country, to foreign investors, or to other countries.
The following table includes actual sovereign defaults and debt restructuring of independent countries since 1557.