Prostitution a multi-billion business

Prostitution in the Czech Republic has become a nine-billion-crown, or 400-million-US dollar business, accounting for 0.2 percent of the country’s GDP, a survey by the Czech Statistical Office revealed on Tuesday. However, the number of prostitutes, estimated between 9,000 and 10,000, has not changed much in the last few years, according to the survey. The number of street prostitutes has decreased rapidly as more and more of them are employed in nightclubs in towns and cities.

The Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is to undertake a comprehensive study on this area of enterprise; 2 million crowns has been earmarked to this end. The Czech law does not recognize prostitution; it is neither legal nor illegal to engage in commercial sex in the Czech Republic.