Official data do not reflect the real state of Italy's economy because the black market accounts for nearly a third of gross domestic product, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Monday.
According to national statistics body ISTAT, Italy posted no growth in 2005 and the stagnant economy has dominated debate ahead of an April 9-10 general election.
But Berlusconi, who is trailing in opinion polls by 3.5-5.0 percentage points, said those figures were not reliable because they did not take into account the black economy. "It is not true that GDP growth stalled in 2005. On the contrary, 2005 was a year of great economic growth," Berlusconi told a radio talk-show.
"Unfortunately, the black economy accounts for 27 percent (of GDP). So to that (GDP data) one has to add 27 percent," he said.
He added that if re-elected his government would put in place measures to encourage firms to join the legal business world.
ISTAT's GDP data include an estimate of the wealth produced by the black economy - which in 2003 ISTAT calculated at between 14.8 and 16.7 percent of GDP.
The centre-left opposition coalition led by former European Commission President Romano Prodi has fiercely criticised Berlusconi's handling of the economy over the past five years.
Berlusconi says the left is exaggerating the country's woes and spreading pessimism among voters.
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