Greece turns to illicit markets to boost GDP

Prostitution, smuggling and money laundering will increase output by 10 per cent

Greece's black market, including smuggling, money laundering and prostitution, will give the country's gross domestic product a boost this year.

In an effort to answer pressure from the European Union to cut its deficits, Greece will include its booming black market in the calculation of its gross domestic product.

The addition of these illicit activities should increase Greece's output by 10 per cent in 2006, according to the National Statistics Service chief Manolis Kontopyrakis.

The country's economic output was 180 billion euros ($255 billion Cdn) in 2005 and is estimated to be at 194 billion euros ($275 billion Cdn) this year. The black economy is estimated at about 40 to 60 billion euros ($57 to $85 billion Cdn) each year.

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