The income or expenditure level below which a minimum nutritionally adequate diet plus essential non-food requirements are not affordable. The most common absolute poverty line is US$1-a-day and the US$2-a-day line.

$1-a-day Poverty Line – The international poverty line for absolute poverty set by the World Bank in 1990, and adjusted for various purchasing power parities. People living at or below this level are said to be in extreme poverty.

$2-a-day Poverty Line – The second international poverty line for poverty set by the World Bank, and adjusted for various purchasing power parities. People living at or below this level are said to be in poverty, though not to the extent of those living under $1 a day.