Abbreviated Name:
Proportion of population below the international poverty line
Indicator Name:
Proportion of population below the international poverty line
Domain:
Health determinants and risks / Demographic and socioeconomic determinants
Related Terms:
Below poverty line, consumption pattern
Definition:
The indicator Proportion of population below the international poverty line is defined as the percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 a day at 2011 international prices. The 'international poverty line' is currently set at $1.90 a day at 2011 international prices.
Measurment Method:
Information on consumption and income is obtained through sample surveys in which households are asked to answer detailed questions on their spending habits and sources of income. Information on consumption and income is obtained through sample surveys in which households are asked to answer detailed questions on their spending habits and sources of income. Individual income or consumption levels are calculated as total household income or consumption divided by household size or “effective” household size in some cases. An “effective” household size is calculated based on household composition to reflect assumed efficiencies in consumption; adjustments may also be made to reflect the number of children in a household. However, the World Bank’s preferred methodology is to make no such adjustments. National poverty rates use a country specific poverty line, which reflects the country’s economic and social circumstances. In some case, the national poverty line is adjusted for different areas (such as urban and rural) within the country, especially when prices or the availability of goods and services differs. National poverty lines tend to have higher purchasing power in rich countries, where more generous standards are used, than in poor countries. In some countries the urban poverty line in common use has a higher real value—meaning that it allows the purchase of more commodities for consumption—than does the rural poverty line.
Numerator:
Total household income or consumption
Denominator
Household size or “effective” household size (based on household composition
Estimation method:
Data are taken from the United Nations' SDG Indicators Global Database. See links below for more information. To measure poverty across countries consistently, the World Bank’s international measures apply a common standard, anchored to what “poverty” means in the world’s poorest countries. The current extreme poverty line is set at $1.90 a day in 2011 PPP terms, which represents the mean of the national poverty lines found in the same poorest 15 countries ranked by per capita consumption. When measuring international poverty of a country, the international poverty line at PPP is converted to local currencies in 2011 price and is then converted to the prices prevailing at the time of the relevant household survey using the best available Consumer Price Index (CPI). (Equivalently, the survey data on household consumption or income for the survey year are expressed in the prices of the ICP base year, and then converted to PPP $’s.) Then the poverty rate is calculated from that survey. All inter-temporal comparisons are real, as assessed using the country-specific CPI. Interpolation/extrapolation methods areused to line up the survey-based estimates with these reference years.
Disaggregation:
Residence (urban / rural)
Primary data sources:
Nationally representative household surveys
Alternate data sources:
World Bank reports
Measurment frequency:
3-5 years