Croatia's gross external debt totaled €44.1 billion in the third quarter of 2021, accounting for 79.4 percent of GDP, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) reported on Friday.

The foreign external debt to GDP ratio improved from 84.5% at the end of June 2021 to 79.4% at the end of September 2021 owing to a slight decline in the debt of domestic sectors and a rise in nominal GDP, the central bank said.

Gross external debt at the end of September 2021 was €200 million lower than at the end of June 2021 thanks to the reduction of debt of all domestic sectors other than the central bank.

Compared with August 2021, gross external debt was reduced by €967 million or 2.14%, while compared with September 2020, it increased by €3.1 billion or 7.5%.

In the year to September 2021, gross external debt rose by €4 billion or 10% due to the rise in debt of all domestic sectors other than other monetary institutions, which cut their debt by €402 million.

External general government debt reached €15.4 billion at the end of September 2021, increasing by €1.46 billion since the end of 2020.

At the same time, the central bank’s debt reached €3.29 billion, up by €2.4 billion on the previous year due to an increase in special drawing rights and repo transactions.

The external debt of other domestic sectors, including liabilities to affiliated creditors, rose by €97 million to €12.78 billion, while the external debt of other monetary institutions, that is, banks, dropped by €402 million to €3.74 billion.