UK To Include $17 Billion Prostitution & Illegal Drugs in GDP Estimates

IB Times – For the first time, Britain will consider illegal enterprises, including drugs and prostitution, in its economic measurements, the Office of National Statistics announced Friday. The statistics office estimates that paying for illegal drugs and sex adds about £10 billion, or $16.7 billion, a year to the UK economy. That’s about 0.7 percent of Britain’s GDP. Officials say approximately £5.3 billion is attributed to prostitution and £4.4 billion pertains to the import, manufacture and consumption of illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine. Because some of these activities, such as prostitution, are legal in other European Union member…