Population Below Income Poverty Line ($3.20)

An important step in the process of compiling global poverty estimates is the conversion of the International Poverty Line into respective national currency units. Since PPP rates were designed for comparing national accounts aggregates, they were not intended for making international poverty comparisons. PPPs are based on prices of goods and services that may not be representative of the consumption baskets of the poor, so they may not fully reflect the relative price level faced by very poor consumers. As a result, there is no certainty that an international poverty line measures exactly the same degree of deprivation across economies. Similarly, the poverty line may need to be adjusted for different locations (such as urban and rural areas) within the economy, if prices or access to goods and services differs. However, for most economies, this information is not available.

There are also problems with comparability of surveys, both over time and across economies. The surveys underlying the welfare distributions are carried out by national statistical offices, central banks, or other national agencies, so they are designed to serve the specific needs and interests of each particular economy. Household survey questionnaires can differ widely, and similar surveys may not be strictly comparable because of differences in quality.

Poverty rates for a region are only reported when the available surveys cover at least 40 percent of the population in that region.

As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Poverty rates for a region are only reported when the available surveys cover at least 40 percent of the population in that region.