Russia’s gray economy

The “gray economy” in Russia – those economic activities that fall somewhere between legal and illegal – amounts to 16 percent of the country’s GDP, a top official said Friday.

“The hidden economy now stands at about 16 percent of GDP,” Alexander Surinov, the head of the federal statistics service, said. That includes companies’ “undisclosed” operations and “informal” or “hidden” wages, he said, including things like household work. The amount of people employed in Russia’s gray economy is 13 million, or 17-18 percent of the economically active population.

Who knows what Russia’s true GDP would be if illegal trade were counted in. “That [16 percent] figure does not include illegal activities, such as prostitution, drug trade, pornography and pirate goods,” Surinov said.