CHOosing Interventions that are Cost Effective (WHO-CHOICE)

Purchasing Power Parity 2005

Results of WHO-CHOICE's analyses are presented in current international dollars of 2005. An international dollar has the same purchasing power as the U.S. dollar has in the United States. Costs in local currency units are converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity (ppp) exchange rates. A ppp exchange rate is the number of units of a country's currency required to buy the same amounts of goods and services in the domestic market as U.S. dollar would buy in the United States. An international dollar is, therefore, a hypothetical currency that is used as a means of translating and comparing costs from one country to the other using a common reference point, the US dollar. The ppp exchange rates used in this analysis were developed by WHO and are listed in the table below.

To convert international dollars to local currency units, multiply the international dollar figure by the PPP exchange rate.

For example, 2 international dollars are equal to 24.24 Thai Bhat for the year 2005 (2 * 12.12). To convert local currency units to international dollars, divide the local currency unit by the PPP exchange rate.