Credit Rating by Country

MacroVar monitors the credit rating developments for all the major economies in the world. Click on each country's link to explore the country's credit rating historical data. Credit ratings are one of the indicators MacroVar uses to monitor a country's risk. Other indicators include Macroeconomic data and the country's financial markets dynamics.

The major credit rating agencies monitored are Standard & Poors (S&P), Fitch and Moody's. Each agency assigns a credit rating for each country indicating the level of the country's creditworthiness, that is the probability of a country to meet its financial obligations to creditors. The rating is expressed as a letter index. Learn more on each agency's index and meaning. The credit rating assigns the rating based on analysis of country's macroeconomic growth, fiscal and monetary policies and financial stability. Each agency also provides an outlook on the long-term development of a country's economy: positive, stable, negative.


Country S&P Rating Moody's Rating Fitch Rating
Rating Outlook Rating Outlook Rating Outlook
US (Stable) None Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
UK AA (Stable) None Aa3 (Stable) Aa3 AA- (Negative) AA-
France AA (Negative) None Aa2 (Stable) Aa2 AA- (Stable) None
Germany (Stable) None Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
Spain A (Stable) A Baa1 (Stable) Baa1 A- A-
Canada AAA (Stable) None Aaa (Stable) Aaa AA+ (Stable) AA+
Mexico BBB (Stable) BBB+ Baa2 (Stable) Baa2 BBB- (Stable) BBB-
Brazil BB (Stable) None Ba2 (Stable) Ba2 BB- BB-
South Africa BB- (Stable) None Ba2 (Stable) Ba2 BB- (Negative) BB-
India (Stable) None Baa3 (Stable) Baa3 BBB- BBB-
Norway (Stable) None Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
Russia CC CC Ca (Negative) Ca C C
China A+ (Stable) A+ A1 (Stable) A1 A+ A+
Singapore AAA (Stable) AAA Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
Indonesia BBB (Stable) BBB Baa2 (Stable) Baa2 BBB BBB
Australia AAA (Stable) AAA Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
Japan (Stable) None A1 (Stable) A1 A A
New Zealand AA+ (Stable) AAA Aaa (Stable) Aaa AA+ (Stable) None
South Korea AA (Stable) AA Aa2 (Stable) Aa2 AA- AA-
Italy BBB (Stable) BBB Baa3 (Negative) Baa3 BBB (Stable) BBB
Czech Republic AA- (Stable) AA Aa3 (Negative) Aa3 AA- AA-
Denmark AAA (Stable) AAA Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
Greece BBB- (Positive) None Ba3 (Stable) Ba3 BB+ (Stable) None
Hungary BBB- (Stable) None Baa2 (Stable) Baa2 BBB BBB
Malaysia A- (Stable) A A3 (Stable) A3 BBB+ (Stable) BBB+
Austria AA+ (Stable) AA+ Aa1 (Stable) Aa1 AA+ AA+
Netherlands AAA (Stable) AAA Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
Philippines BBB+ (Stable) BBB+ Baa2 (Stable) Baa2 BBB BBB
Poland A- (Stable) A A2 (Stable) A2 A- A-
Portugal A- (Positive) None Baa2 (Stable) Baa2 BBB+ (Stable) None
Sweden AAA (Stable) AAA Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
Switzerland None AAA Aaa (Stable) Aaa AAA AAA
Thailand (Stable) None Baa1 (Stable) Baa1 (Stable) None
Turkey B+ (Positive) None B3 (Stable) B3 B (Negative) B
Taiwan AA+ (Stable) AA+ Aa3 (Stable) Aa3 AA (Stable) AA

Credit Rating Letter Index analysis

Credit rating agencies like S&P Global, Fitch Ratings, and Moody's Investors Service play a crucial role in the global financial system by assessing the creditworthiness of various entities, including governments, corporations, and financial instruments. These agencies provide credit ratings, which are opinions about the credit risk associated with specific issuers and securities. Here's some content about these three major credit rating agencies:

S&P Global
S&P Global is one of the world's leading credit rating agencies. It offers credit ratings, research, and analysis on a wide range of financial instruments and entities, including sovereign governments, corporations, and structured finance products. S&P Global uses a letter-based rating system to convey its assessment of credit risk. For example: AAA: Highest credit quality, very low risk, AA: High credit quality with low risk, A: Upper-medium credit quality, with moderate risk

S&P Global's ratings are widely used by investors, issuers, and governments to make informed financial decisions.

Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings is another prominent credit rating agency. Fitch provides credit ratings, research, and analysis for various entities and financial products. It employs a similar letter-based rating system to convey credit risk: AAA: Highest credit quality, minimal risk, AA: High credit quality with low risk, A: Upper-medium credit quality, moderate risk

Fitch Ratings is known for its rigorous analysis and its role in informing investors and issuers about credit risk associated with bonds and other financial instruments.

Moody's Investors Service Moody's is a global credit rating agency that evaluates the creditworthiness of issuers and securities. It also uses a letter-based rating system: Aaa: Highest credit quality, minimal risk, Aa: High credit quality with low risk, A: Upper-medium credit quality, moderate risk

Moody's ratings are widely relied upon by investors, especially for assessing the risk of fixed-income securities like bonds.

These credit rating agencies conduct thorough assessments of an entity's financial health, industry conditions, and economic factors to assign credit ratings. These ratings are essential for investors, lenders, and regulators in making informed financial decisions and managing risk.

It's important to note that while credit ratings are valuable tools, they are not infallible and should be used in conjunction with other research and due diligence when making financial decisions. Additionally, the agencies have faced criticism and scrutiny in the past for their role in the financial crisis and for potential conflicts of interest, which has led to ongoing discussions about improving their practices and transparency.

S&P Moody's Fitch Analysis
AAA Aaa AAA Prime rating: The highest level of creditworthiness.
AA+ Aa1 AA+ High grade: Very high sovereign creditworthiness
AA Aa2 AA
AA- Aa3 AA-
A+ A1 A+ Upper medium grade: High creditworthiness, but the country's economy is vulnerable to global financial conditions
A A2 A
A- A3 A-
BBB+ Baa1 BBB+ Lower medium grade: The country's economy is exposed to adverse economic conditions
BBB Baa2 BBB
BBB- Baa3 BBB-
BB+ Ba1 BB+ Non-investment grade (speculative): The economy is currently stable, but is highly likely to b ecome unstable in the long term due to the adverse economic and financial conditions.
BB Ba2 BB
BB- Ba3 BB-
B+ B1 B+ Highly speculative: The country is marginally creditworthy with a high probability of facing financial and economic headwinds.
B B2 B
B- B3 B-
CCC+ Caa1 CCC Extremely speculative: The country is not creditworthy, since its economy is weak.
CCC Caa2
CCC- Caa3 In Default with small probability of recovery
CC Ca High Probability of Default: the economy is extremely weak, and there is a high probability of default.
C C
D / DDD In default: The country is in default hence it's credit obligations are not met.