The Moody's agency has raised Croatia’s credit rating by two levels, from BAA2 to A3, with stable outlooks. What’s particularly noteworthy is that this agency has increased our credit rating by two levels twice in just over two and a half years, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a press conference.

"This is a unique case," he added, noting that no other country has experienced such a strong credit rating rise in the post-pandemic period.

"In comparison with colleagues and partners within the European Union, we are now at the level of Slovenia, Latvia, and Portugal," Plenković emphasized, "and we have a better credit rating than, for example, Bulgaria, Spain, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Greece."

He also pointed out that this credit rating comes amid favorable macroeconomic indicators for Croatia, stating that the Government predicts GDP growth of 3.6% this year, annual inflation of 3%, and a public debt-to-GDP ratio drop to 57.4%.

"Moody’s even forecasts a slightly better figure – only 57%. These are the most important criteria indicating the current strength and health of the Croatian economy, but above all, responsible management of public finances and our economic policy in this third term," concluded the Prime Minister.

Croatia is experiencing its highest employment rate ever, while unemployment has reached its lowest in recent years, below 5%, he said. He highlighted that Moody’s assessed that Croatia is making very good use of funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which, as the Prime Minister said, is giving additional momentum to investments and economic growth. It is also important to emphasize that structural reforms and other reforms undertaken by the Government have contributed to this credit rating assessment.