This graphic attempts to visualise how the Eurozone crisis developed over time. Seven key indicators are shown for the Eurozone and each of the original 12 Eurozone members.
The outer radius of the ring shows the maximum within the Eurozone
for a given month and the inner radius the minimum. The thick blue
line shows the median.
Select countries through the checkboxes on the left to show them in
the graph. Move the slider below the graph to see the data for a
specific month or click the "Play" icon to start an animation.
Important news/developments are shown for some months.
The scales of the indicators are arranged such that up in the graph means good and down bad. The indicators are grouped such that the ones on the left affect the private sector and population more whereas the ones on the right affect the public sector and the government.
The indicators are as follows.
Compared to 2006, the picture at the end of 2011 is different in two
main ways. First, the ring has moved down by a lot, indicating that
the overall state of the economy is worse. Second, the ring is much
thicker, indicating that the discrepancies within the Eurozone are
much higher. This is especially true for interest rates and
unemployment.
Inflation on the other hand is (except for 2010) low and similar for
all Eurozone countries. This shows the effect of the common currency
and its centralised governance.
For the purposes of this graph, the Eurozone is always composed of
the 12 countries listed on the left. Other countries joined the
Eurozone during the shown period, but their economies are relatively
well off and their joining would cause an overall improvement even
though the situation of the other countries has not changed.
Some of the later numbers are estimates.