The ICP was first established in 1968 as a joint venture of the UN and the International Comparisons Unit of the University of Pennsylvania, with financial contributions from the Ford Foundation and the World Bank. Starting with a modest project to undertake comparisons in 10 countries in 1970, further ICP rounds have been conducted in 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990 (only partial), and 1993. By the time of the last round, the ICP had expanded to the status of a truly global program. Coverage has increased from the initial 10 countries in 1970 to 118 in 1993, covering all regions of the world for the first time. OECD, in collaboration with the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) has continued to collect price data to estimate PPPs in its member states and currently operates on a three-year cycle.
The current round brings over 146 countries under the ICP fold from six regions. The global program is run in close collaboration with the OECD/ Eurostat program. The OECD and Eurostat programs are, however, run independently from the global ICP formal management structure.
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