I have to take some time to look more but im an immigrant to the USA from a poor country and even back home, 3 USD would hardly have been liveable. Im sure there were reasons for picking these thresholds, but I'd have to take more time to look at it b/c from this angle it's absurdly low a number
Depends where you are from, but keep in mind this is only based on low-income countries, these are countries with a GNI per head of up to USD1,036 or USD2.84/day. Also keep in mind this is per head so household income will be higher. 1/
It’s also a market exchange rates, not PPP where GNI is higher. So your USD3 at PPP for this group turns into maybe USD6 or 7. data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY...
Bottom line is that intl development statistics are complex, messy, fraught with assumptions and global averages cannot be meaningfully applied to specific situations.