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Belgrade – Prostitution and drug trafficking raise Serbia’s gross domestic product by 33.5 billion dinars.
Source: B92, TV Prva
Photo: Depositphotos / motortion
It may sound strange, but this is the official data from the Office of Statistics of the Republic, which has been calculating the proportion of illegal activities in GDP since 2014.
There is no way to compare logging, furniture production, or forestry with prostitution, but these legal activities have the same share of GDP as illegal prostitution.
The Republic Office of Statistics has been applying the European System of Accounts since 2014, and since then the calculation of GDP has included the uncovered economy and illegal activities as part of it.
“I think it is good that the Bureau of Statistics has provided estimates, of course, it would be good to hear something about the methodology of how this data was collected. When there is already data on how much is made from some illegal activities, it would be equally helpful if the Bureau collect, for example, data on how much corruption brings costs or benefits on the other hand for those who participate in it, “says Nemanja Nenadić from Transparency Serbia for Prva TV.
The necessary data were obtained with the application of international standards, the SBS in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and specialized health institutions arrived at the necessary data sources and calculation methods based on them, that is, estimates.
In percentage terms, prostitution since 2015 has accounted for an average of 0.3 percent of GDP. In 2015, prostitution generated a turnover of just over 12 billion dinars, which represented 0.34 percent of GDP.
Although profits grew in subsequent years, the share of GDP remained roughly the same in that period, so during 2019, the turnover in prostitution was almost 16 billion dinars, which is 0.29 percent. of GDP.
It is similar when it comes to another big illegal business, drug trafficking. According to official data, in 2015 drug trafficking amounted to almost 14.5 billion dinars, representing 0.34 percent of GDP.
Although the turnover, as well as when prostitution was questioned in the following years, grew, the share of narcotics in GDP remained around 0.3 percent. Last year, although the turnover was more than three billion compared to 2015, it amounted to 0.32 percent of GDP.
“The legalization of prostitution, or the sale of certain types of drugs, would probably have the effect of reducing the illegal income of those who do not adequately control such activities. Of course, each state and society, in accordance with its standards, moral principles and similar, consider whether or not to declare a legal activity, ”says Nenadić.
In percentage terms, with prostitution and drug trafficking, forestry and logging, furniture production, computer production, electronic and optical products, and advertising and market research have the same or about 0.3 percent of GDP for 2019.
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