Poverty gap at dollar 2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (%)
| Quick info | |
|---|---|
| Data type | Numeric |
| Scale | Metric |
| Value labels | Not applicable |
| Technical name | socstr_povgap190_11_wb_new |
| Category | Social structure |
| Label | Poverty gap at dollar 2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (%) |
| Related indicators |
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The "Poverty gap at dollar 2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (%)" measures the percentage of the population living on less than $2.15 a day, adjusted for 2017 international prices (in terms of 2017 purchasing power parity (PPP)). This poverty line, which reflects the value of national poverty lines in some of the world’s poorest countries, is often referred to as the extreme poverty line. The international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per day represents the median national poverty line of 28 low-income countries.
Coding rules
The variable measures the percentage of the population living on less than $2.15 a day, adjusted for 2017 international prices. Using the poverty threshold of less than $2.15 a day allows for the aggregation and comparison of poverty rates across countries, ensuring a consistent real standard of living is used in each case. PPP exchange rates are employed to estimate global poverty because they account for differences in prices between countries. However, PPP rates were designed primarily for comparing national accounts and may not be perfectly suited for international poverty comparisons. Consequently, the international poverty line may not reflect the same level of need or deprivation in every country it is applied to. To ensure consistent comparisons across countries with different poverty definitions, a common standard for measuring extreme poverty is defined, reflecting what poverty means in the world's poorest countries. The widely used $1-a-day standard, initially measured in 1985 international prices and adjusted for local currencies using PPPs, has been periodically updated, with the most recent adjustment in September 2022, raising the line to $2.15 using the 2017 PPP. This new poverty line maintains the same extreme poverty standard but incorporates the latest data on the cost of living in developing countries. Despite efforts to standardize the poverty line, comparability across countries remains challenging. Even similar surveys may not be directly comparable due to differences in timing, survey methods, or the quality and training of enumerators. Additionally, comparisons between countries at different levels of development may face difficulties, particularly due to the varying significance of non-market goods (such as home-grown food) in consumption. Although most surveys now include estimations for the value of own production, the methods for valuing such goods can vary, further complicating cross-country comparisons. Teorell et al. (2024:1578) define the variable as "Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $2.15 a day at 2017 purchasing power adjusted prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions."
Bibliographic info
Citation:- Teorell, Jan, Aksel Sundström, Sören Holmberg, Bo Rothstein, Natalia Alvarado Pachon, Cem Mert Dalli, Rafael Lopez Valverde & Paula Nilsson (2024). The Quality of Government Standard Dataset, version Jan24. University of Gothenburg: The Quality of Government Institute, https://www.gu.se/en/quality-government, doi:10.18157/qogstdjan24
- World Bank. (2023). World development indicators. The World Bank Washington DC. https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators
- Tetteh Baah, Samuel Kofi; Jolliffe, Dean Mitchell; Mahler, Daniel Gerszon; Lakner, Christoph; Atamanov, Aziz. (2022). Assessing the Impact of the 2017 PPPs on the International Poverty Line and Global Poverty. Policy Research Working Paper; 9941. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37061 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO; at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/b7181197-311d-5721-9f84-bad27677e2f3
- World Bank. (2024). Poverty and Inequality Platform Methodology Handbook. Edition 2024-09. Available at https://datanalytics.worldbank.org/PIP-Methodology/
Misc
Project manager(s): Responsible for data editing, description (WESIS) and entry: Andrea Schäfer (2021-2025, Version 0.001); Principal Investigator: Irene Dingeldey, Ulrich Mückenberger
Data release:- Version 0.001: Initial release with data from The Quality of Government Standard Dataset, version January 2024
Revisions: No revisions yet
Sources
- Teorell, Jan and Sundström, Aksel and Holmberg, Sören and Rothstein, Bo and Alvarado Pachon, Natalia and Dalli, Cem Mert and Lopez Valvarde, Rafael and Nilsson, Paula (2024). The Quality of Government Standard Dataset, version Jan24. University of Gothenburg: The Quality of Government Institute, Available at: https://www.gu.se/en/quality-government/qog-data/data-downloads/standard-dataset
- World Bank. (2023). World development indicators. The World Bank Washington DC. https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators
