Which country adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2023? Croatia did.
Croatia became the 20th member of the euro area on 1 January 2023, replacing the Croatian kuna. The change followed years of preparation, including Croatia’s entry into the EU’s Exchange Rate Mechanism II in July 2020 and its completion of the required convergence criteria.
The conversion rate was fixed at €1 = 7.53450 kuna. For two weeks, both currencies could be used for cash payments, although change was given in euros. The kuna had already been closely linked to the euro for decades, and many Croatian savings and debts were euro-denominated before the changeover.
Croatia is sometimes confused with other EU countries that have not adopted the euro, including Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. Croatia’s euro coins feature national designs such as the checkerboard emblem, a marten and Nikola Tesla.