If the black market were a sovereign nation, it would be the world’s 2nd largest economic superpower. There is enough illegal oil bunkered daily in Nigeria to drive a car around the entire planet 3.7 million times. Illegal gambling in Asia nets $500 billion, while the worldwide legal gambling nets $335 billion. Together, that’s more than the U.S. spends on education each year.
While the global economy heads for the gutter, worldwide black markets grow at incredible rates. From drug and firearms dealers to street vendors and self-made taxi drivers, the individual black markets net far higher prices than many countries. The average black market is worth $21 billion, which is higher than the GDP of 40% of the world’s countries. [Read more…]
