If you thought that statistics in America were crazy... they're even crazier in the European Union:

Sweden's statistics bureau has set up a "vice squad" to work out how much Swedes spend on prostitutes, illegal drugs and smuggled alcohol to calculate the true size of the economy in compliance with European Union rules.

The head of the team, Birgitta Magnusson, told Reuters on Tuesday that the overall impact on Sweden's $365-billion gross domestic product (GDP) would be "very, very small."

The European Commission ruled in 1996 that national accounts must include all transactions -- an easier task for states like the Netherlands where some drugs and prostitution are legal, but a tall order for countries like Sweden where they are outlawed.

Apparently making it easier to gather required statistics might be a reason for EU countries to make prostitution and drug use legal now. Go figure. Apparently the issue isn't finding out how much different services cost though:

The value of smuggled alcohol is estimated in the same way but the problem with prostitutes is not one of price but of frequency.

"People offering their services on the Internet have price lists for different services, so you can get an estimate of how much they charge, but you don't know the frequency of how many customers they have a day, so it's very difficult," she said.

I can just imagine how that would work. The vice squad raids a brothel...
Prostitute: Damnit... not again. Don't you people have anything better to do. Aren't there any murderers for you to arrest?
Vice Squad Cop: You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. But before you do... could you do us a favor and answer the following questions for our EU statistics?
1. On average, how many clients per day to you service?
2. On average how much do you charge for those services?
Prostitute: You're kidding me right?