Croatia has joined the group of a few dozen countries with triple-A ratings from all three major international rating agencies following its upgrade by Moody’s on November 8. 

Croatia’s long-term credit rating was upgraded by Moody’s Ratings to A3, a two-level increase from Baa2, reflecting strong economic growth prospects and stable fiscal policies. The outlook is stable.

In a statement, Moody's pointed to Croatia's improvement in fiscal strength due to a sharp reduction in government debt, which it expects to maintain in the coming years. 

This assessment aligns with other recent upgrades from Fitch and S&P Global, which also boosted Croatia's credit rating to A-.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic hailed this as a historic milestone: "With this rating, Croatia joins a select group of about 40 countries with an A-category rating across all three major global agencies. It underscores the resilience of our economy and the effectiveness of our public finance management, benefitting our citizens and businesses alike."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Marko Primorac expressed similar pride, attributing the rating increase to responsible fiscal policies and the successful execution of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan: "This upgrade validates our hard work and dedication to economic growth, quality of life improvements, and fiscal stability,” Primorac said, according to a government statement. 

Moody's noted that Croatia is the only country to achieve such a rapid rise in credit rating during the past few years, surpassing several EU nations like Bulgaria and Spain, which are now rated lower than Croatia. 

“Considering that in July 2022 Croatia was at the level of speculative/non-investment rating (Ba1 level), we achieved a jump of four levels (to investment A3 rating) in less than 2.5 years,” a government statement said. 

The achievement follows Croatia’s recent integration into the eurozone and Schengen Area, key goals in the nation’s strategic growth and stability efforts.