Definition: International comparison programme

Category: Purchasing power parities

"International comparison" project prior to 1989 and "International comparison programme" since 1989. It started as a research project in the 1960s with the ultimate goal of establishing a regular programme of worldwide PPP (Purchasing power parity) comparisons of GDP (Gross domestic product). Comparisons were organised for 1970, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1993. They covered 10, 16, 34, 60, 64 and 83 countries respectively. Responsibility for these comparisons was shared by the United Nations Statistics Division and the University of Pennsylvania. The World Bank is the current global co-ordinator of the ICP. A comparison covering 147 countries was organised for 2005 and a comparison covering around 200 countries is being organised for 2011. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=KS-RA-12-023&mode=view Eurostat and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), "Eurostat - OECD Methodological manual on purchasing power parities (2005 Edition)", Methods and Nomenclatures, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 2006European Union, Regulation (EC) No 1445/2007 establishing rules for the provision of basic information on PPPs, Official Journal of the European Union No L 336, 20.12.2007, p. 1 - 24