Switzerland's sex industry is booming

GENEVA (UPI): Switzerland's sex industry is booming, with estimates of official and unofficial income from the sector outstripping the earnings of the country's largest supermarket chain.

Swiss newspaper Le Nouveau Quotidien, estimated that earnings from prostitution, strip-tease, sex shops, classified ads, erotic telephone lines and other businesses totaled 4.2 billion francs (US$3.6 billion) last year, compared with 1.6 billion francs ($1.4 billion) earned by the supermarket chain Migros.

"We have accounts that are used by up to 30 clients a day," the newspaper Friday quoted a worker from one unidentified Zurich enterprise as saying.

There are 4,000 registered prostitutes in Switzerland, each earning an average annual income of 170,000 francs ($148,000). The average charge per client is about 150 francs ($130), the newspaper said.

In addition there are more than 10,000 illegal prostitutes walking the country's streets, earning up to 50 francs ($33) from each client. Most of Switzerland's sex workers come from Asia, Africa and Latin America, the newspaper said.

The newspaper also reported the amount earned by the sex industry was almost equal to the country's projected national deficit for 1996, which stands at 4.3 billion francs ($3.7 billion).

It said prostitution earns 2.7 billion francs ($2.3 billion) annually, strip-tease 820 million francs ($713 million), classified advertisements 216 million francs ($188 million), sex shops 60 million francs ($52 million), erotic telephone lines 45 million francs ($39 million), and cinemas, therapy and tourism 200 million francs ($174 million).

The figures, although small by comparison to other countries, indicate that on average, each of Switzerland's 6 million citizens spends 70 francs ($61) a year on sex or on a sex-related product, the newspaper said.