How many months did the 1973-1974 stock market crash last?

The 1973–1974 stock market crash lasted 23 months, running broadly from January 1973 through December 1974. On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s bear market is often dated from 11 January 1973 to 6 December 1974—a span of 694 days.

This was a worldwide downturn rather than a single-day panic. Major markets were pressured by the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system, the 1973 oil crisis, high inflation, slowing economic growth, and falling confidence in share valuations. The Dow lost more than 45% from peak to trough, while Britain’s FT 30 suffered an even steeper decline of about 73%.

The “23 months” figure describes the overall crash period, not the time every index took to reach its exact low. Major G7 markets bottomed at different points between September and December 1974, and recovery was uneven. West Germany recovered fastest; the United Kingdom did not regain its earlier level until 1987, while the United States took until 1993 in real terms.