For the purpose of comparing levels of poverty across countries, the World Bank uses estimates of consumption converted to US dollars using purchasing power parity (PPP) rates rather than exchange rates. PPP conversion allows national accounts aggregates in national currencies to be compared on the basis of their purchasing powers of the currencies in their respective domestic markets free from differences in price levels across countries, much the same way as constant price estimates do in a time series comparison of real values free from differences in prices over time.
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