The definition of public debt and how it affects macroeconomic stability were the main topics of this paper. The phases and classification of public debt are provided for better understanding. Numerous factors, including public debt, can affect macroeconomic stability, higher debt means higher vulnerabilities. Domestic or internal debt consist of treasury bills, bonds and loans on domestic capital market, while bonds and loans on foreign capital market make up foreign or external debt. Over the past 20 years, many European countries have had difficulty managing their public debt effectively, therefore, the World Bank and the International Monetary fund publish The public debt management guidelines. Based on the debt measurement of government debt to GDP, Croatia is ranked 13th with 64,4%. Croatia inherited most of its public debt from the former Yugoslavia. The majority of public debt in Croatia relates to the Central government, 44.9 billion euros. Now, Croatia has favourable direction of the economy, the stability program of the Republic of Croatia for the period 2024-2026 has been established.