Spain's 'black' economy worth 25 percent of GDP Spain's building boom created a vast pool of 'black' money, argues Spanish tax office workers' union Gestha. File photo: Pedro Armestre/AFP Published: 29 Jan 2014 17:02 GMT+01:00 Updated: 29 Jan 2014 17:02 GMT+01:00 Spain's underground or 'black' economy ballooned to almost 25 percent of the country's gross domestic product in 2012 as a result of the crisis, a new report shows. The black economy was worth €253 billion ($344 billion) in 2012, the report by Spanish tax office workers union Gestha shows. That's €60 billion higher than at the start of the crisis in 2008, and means the submerged economy was worth a whopping 24.6 percent of GDP in 2012. In 2008, by contrast, this underground activity was valued at a still-high 17.8 percent of GDP. The Gestha report ties the massive growth in Spain's submerged economy to high levels of corruption, the lingering effects of the country's building boom - which created a huge pool of black money - and massive unemployment. The union also pointed out that tax increases brought in since the start of the crisis had not been adequately policed by authorities. Another key factor was the massive circulation of €500 notes in the Spanish economy. This amounts to some 73.7 percent of all currency moving around the country, or 14 percent of all such notes in use in Europe, according to Gestha. These €500 notes are the preferred bills for underground activity said the union. On a region-by-region breakdown, the areas hardest hit by the collapse of the building boom and unemployment including Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Extremadura, and Castile-La Mancha had the highest levels of black activity. The lowest levels were seen in the provinces of Madrid, Tarragona, Lleida, Barcelona, Zaragoza and La Rioja. Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry has issued a critical report damning Spain and all other 28 EU nations for their human ... This will be a familiar sight in airports across Europe on Wednesday and Thursday. Spanish air traffic controllers have warned passengers travelling to and from Spain that their flights may be affected by a pan-European strike they have chosen not to take part in. The number of under-18s "at risk of poverty or marginalization" soared to more than 2.8 million in 2012, says charity Save the Children. Photo: Lluis Gene/AFP More than a third of children in Spain live at risk of poverty, the aid charity Save the Children said on Wednesday, blaming austerity measures for worsening the situation. Photo: Dominique Faget/AFP/The Local/bobnebee/Flickr Google's search engines have a habit of trying to finish your sentences, but what do their predictive algorithms have to say about Spain and the Spanish? We've chosen some of our favourites. A meme showing Spain's employment minister Fátima Báñez flanked by Saint Teresa of Avila and the Virgin of Rocio. Events in the Spanish Parliament took a turn for the surreal on Tuesday when one political party presented a letter to the Prime Minister asking about the role of various Christian saints in the country's economic crisis. It isn't the first time Spain's most sought-after architect has been criticized for the design and cost of some of his structures. Photo: Oliver Hadfield Residents in the Spanish city of Murcia are continuously slipping over on the glass floor of a bridge designed by controversial architect Santiago Calatrava. The problem has not ceased even since Murcia town hall put a €60,000 ($82,000) carpet down to prevent any more injuries. The accident investigators determined that Spanish pilot Jordi Sola López and his copilot Andrew Cantle were not adequately trained. File photo: Digital Cork/Flickr A plane crash in Ireland involving a Spanish airline in which six people died was caused by pilot error and a lack of oversight by Spain's aviation regular, Irish authorities said on Tuesday.