The drugs trade, illegal prostitution and tobacco smuggling generated some €17 billion in the Netherlands in 2021, but most of the proceeds ended up abroad, according to new research by national statistics agency CBS.
In total, illegal activities generated €4.5 billion for the Dutch economy in 2021, the CBS said.
Cocaine was the biggest earner, generating €10.7 billion in sales, but 90% of the proceeds went abroad. “Much of the international drugs trading which takes place in the Netherlands is under the leadership of people who do not live here,” the CBS said.
The CBS estimates that the synthetics drug industry generates some €1 billion for the Dutch economy, cannabis €1.4 billion, prostitution €700 million and tobacco smuggling €100 million.
In total, such criminal activities contribute 0.5 percentage point of Dutch GDP, the CBS said. This is slightly down on 2015, when the last estimates were made.
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https://www.dutchnews.nl/2024/05/illegal-drugs-prostitution-generate-e4-5-billion-for-nl-economy/
