How effective have sovereign debt restructurings been in reducing debt-to-GDP ratios? We explore this empirically based on a newly assembled comprehensive dataset that covers 115 countries between 1950 and 2021. We show that debt restructuring has a significant and long-lasting impact on the debt-to-GDP ratio. The impact is even larger when combined with fiscal consolidation. In the short run, restructurings with face value reduction and higher creditor coordination tend to be more effective, compared to the average. In the long run, however, the depth of treatment is important, irrespective of how restructuring is executed.