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Italy's illegal and underground economy accounts for 13 percent of GDP

Catherine Edwards
Catherine Edwards - [email protected]
Italy's illegal and underground economy accounts for 13 percent of GDP
Not just pennies: Italy's non-observed economy was worth €211 billion in 2014. File photo: Pexels

The 'non-observed' economy - comprising both underground and illegal activities - was worth €211 billion in 2014, accounting for 13 percent of the country's entire GDP.

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This data comes from Istat, which revealed on Friday that the value of the non-observed economy had increased by €5 billion since the previous year, when it contribited 12.9 percent of the total GDP.

The bulk of the money comes from the underground economy, which contributed €194 billion (12 percent of the GDP) last year, while illegal activity brought in around €17 billion. 

Between 2011 and 2014, the value of the unobserved economy has steadily risen to 13 from 12.4 percent of the total GDP. 

The biggest chunk (46.9 percent) is down to companies under-declaring their income, while a further 36.5 percent comes from illegal labour. Eight percent comes from illegal activities, including prostitution, drug dealing and bribery.

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