International Dollar, Geary-Khamis Dollar
Explaining Definitions, MeaningInternational Currency Values

The prices of goods and services in different countries and different currencies can be effectively compared by converting the converting currencies to the International Dollar.

The prices of goods and services in different countries and different currencies can be compared by converting currencies to the International Dollar. These conversions are based on measured purchasing power parity.

The International dollar provides a way to compare prices and currency values between countries.

What is the International Dollar?

The International dollar (also known as the Geary-Khamis dollar) is a currency unit used by economists and international organizations to compare the values of different currencies. International dollar comparisons between countries have been adjusted to reflect currency exchange rates, but also adjusted to reflect purchasing power parity (PPP) and average commodity prices within each country.

International dollars for a single year are typically presented as the current international dollar—reflecting the current year's exchange rates and current PPP adjustments. When figures are compared across years, they may also be adjusted for inflation so as to represent currencies in constant (international) dollars for a base year, such as 2000.

Explaining International Dollar in Context

Sections below further define and explain usage of the international dollar concept, in context with international dollar calculations and international dollar values for various national currencies.

What is the international dollar?
What is the history of the International dollar? When was the concept first used?
How do Gross National Income Figures (GNI) for 50 different countries compare, when expressed in International dollars?
What further adjustments are sometimes made for international dollars figures to compensate for inflation?

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What is the History of the International Dollar?
When Was the First Use of the Concept?

The International dollar was first proposed by Roy C. Geary, an Irish statistician, in 1958. It was further developed and promoted in the 1970s by Salem Hanna Khamis, a Palestinian economic statistician. In the last few decades, various forms of the international dollar have become the metric of choice for organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, for comparing wealth and individual earnings between nations.

Note that the International dollar comparisons between countries will generally differ from comparisons based solely on currency exchange rates (so-called nominal, or exchange rate comparisons).

How do Gross National Income Figures (GNI) for Fifty Countries ompare in International Dollars?

Below are World Bank GNI figures for 50 country economies, showing per capita gross national income (GNI) expressed in international dollars (3rd column). As of early 2016, figures latest available figures are for 2014.Figures for and 2015 and 2016 are not yet available. Figures marked with * are for 2013. All figures in this table figures are based on the year 2011 base international dollar.

Approx Rank Intl$ Basis	Country	2013 GNI Per Capita Intl $ Basis
1	Qatar	134,420
2	Singapore	80,270
3	United Arab Emirates	67,720
4	Norway	66,330
5	Luxembourg	65,040
6	Switzerland	57,960*
7	United States	55,860
8	Saudi Arabia	51,320*
9	Netherlands	48,260
10	Germany	46,850
11	Sweden	46,750
12	Denmark	46,210
13	Austria	45,930
14	Canada	43,360
15	Belgium	43,220
15	Australia	42,760
16	Ireland	42,270
17	Iceland	41,090*
18	Finland	39,940
19	France	39,610
20	United Kingdom	39,040
21	Japan	37,920
22	Italy	35,540
23	Spain	34,700
24	Israel	32,830
25	New Zealand	34,970
26	Republic of Korea	34,620
27	Israel	32,820
28	Trinadad and Tobago	31,970
29	Slovenia	29,920
30	Portugal	28,010
31	Malta	27,020*
32	Czech Republic	26,020
33	Slovak Republic	26,820
34	Estonia	26,330
35	Greece	25,660
36	Lithuania	25,490
37	Seychelles	24,780
38	Malaysia	24,770
39	Russian Federation	24,710
40	Puerto Rico	23,960*
41	Poland	23,930
42	Sst. Kitts and Nevis	22,600
43	Equatorial Guinea	17,660
44	Turkey	19,020
45	Uruguay	18,940
46	Romania	18,410
47	Venezuela	17,700*
48	Mexico	16,640
49	Thailand	14,870
50	China	13,170
—	South Africa	12,700
	Serbia	12,150

These per capita figures, of course, represent total country GNIs divided by each country's average population. The 2014 international dollar figures show, for example, that the average citizen of Norway was represented by slightly less than twice the economic output of the average Spanish citizen (Intl $66,330 vs. $34,700). .

International dollar figures may be expressed as current international dollars (as in the table above), in which case the exchange rate adjustments and PPP adjustments represent the stated year's exchange rates and buying power figures for each country.

What Further Adjustments Compensate International Dollar Figures for Inflation?

When comparisons are made between years, as well as between countries, the International dollar figures may be further adjusted to compensate for inflation. In that case, a base year will be specified, e.g., (2011 for the above table), and all figures between countries and between years will be expressed in constant international "2011 international dollars" or some constant dollars for some other base year.

In summary, those comparing economic figures from different countries and different times should be sure to understand carefully which adjustment or adjustments are reflected in the data:

Population adjustments (In which case, figures represent per capita monies)
Currency exchange rate adjustments (In which case, figures will be expressed in one currency unit (typically US$, International $, € £ or ¥)
Purchasing power parity adjustments and/or average commodity prices (in which case, figures are typically expressed as International $)
Inflation adjustments (in which case, figures have been adjusted, based on changes in an inflation index such as the consumer price index, to represent currency for a "base" year, such as 2000).