This paper examines the impact of external debt on the economies of Croatia, Sweden and Greece, focusing on macroeconomic consequences, fiscal implications, and the risks associated with debt servicing. The subject of the research is the impact of external debt on economic growth, fiscal policy, economic stability, and development projects. The aim of the study is to identify optimal levels of external debt that stimulate development and propose measures for sustainable debt management. Through a comparative analysis of these three countries, the paper explores different approaches to managing external debt and their effects on key economic variables such as GDP and inflation rate. The results show that high external debt has posed significant economic challenges in all three countries, but the specific consequences and debt management strategies have varied depending on the economic and political context of each country. The study concludes that sustainable debt management requires coherent fiscal policies and the adoption of measures that enable long-term economic growth without compromising financial stability.