Prostitution and drug dealing to boost UK accounts by £10bn

The contribution of prostitutes and drug dealers to the UK economy is to be included in the national accounts for the first time – boosting the figures by £10 billion, according to initial estimates.

Traditional measures of national output such as construction and manufacturing will be supplemented by the shadier elements of the economy from September.

Publishing its first detailed figures, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said prostitution contributed some £5.3 billion to gross domestic product in 2009, while drug dealing added about £4.4 billion. The changes to the way the size of the economy is calculated brings the UK in line with European Union rules.

Joe Grice, chief economic adviser at the ONS, said: "As economies develop and evolve, so do the statistics we use to measure them. These improvements are going on across the world and we are working with our partners in Europe and the wider world on the same agenda."

In every year between 1997 and 2009 prostitution and illegal drugs boosted the economy by between £7bn and £11bn, the ONS said. – (Guardian service)