Greek long-term sovereign debt is still considered rated speculative or "junk", but was upgraded from "B minus" to "B".

Greece's credit rating was upgraded by Standard & Poor's on Friday and the ratings agency forecast its economy would start growing again next year.

"The outlook is stable, balancing our view of Greece's progress in fiscal consolidation against its still-weak economic recovery and political resolve to continue with structural and institutional reforms," said S&P in a news release on Friday.

The rating agency forecast the Greek economy will start growing again next year, after shrinking for seven consecutive years.

Greece itself is more optimistic and predicts faint growth in 2014.

Will 2014 be the year Greece starts growing again?



Greece was first hit hard by the global financial crisis in 2008 and then ran into trouble paying down its debt in 2010. The country was bailed out by the rest of Europe and the International Monetary Fund with 240 billion euros ($311 billion) in loans.

It hopes to graduate from its loan program in 2016 without further assistance—just as Ireland and Portugal did this year.

—By CNBC's Katy Barnato

