where did the great depression take place

The Great Depression began in the United States but very quickly became a worldwide economic crisis affecting most industrialized and many non‑industrialized countries.

Main locations

• The downturn started in the U.S., triggered around the time of the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash.

• It then spread across much of Europe, hitting countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany especially hard.

• The crisis ultimately affected “almost every country of the world,” disrupting trade, production, and employment on a global scale.

Within the United States

• The entire national economy suffered, with huge drops in industrial output, bank failures, and mass unemployment across cities and rural areas.

• Parts of the Great Plains—such as areas of Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico—were additionally devastated by drought and dust storms, becoming known as the Dust Bowl.

In short, the Great Depression did not take place in just one country; it started in the United States and unfolded as a global economic catastrophe.