The five stages of the business cycle are growth (expansion), peak, recession (contraction), trough and recovery. At one time, business cycles were conceived to be really regular, with predictable durations. But today business cycles are widely known to be irregular – varying in frequency, magnitude and duration. The average duration of an expansion is 44.8 months and the average duration of a recession is 11 months. As a comparison, the Great Depression – which saw a decline in economic activity from 1929 to 1933 – lasted 43 months from peak to trough.