Over 3 Billion people live on less than $2.50 per day and over 80% of all people live on less than $10 per day. In 2008, Canadians ranked as the 8th highest per capita income earners, earning an average $108 per day ($39,300/yr).

These figures are based on purchasing power parity (PPP), which basically suggests that prices of goods in countries tend to equate under floating exchange rates and therefore people would be able to purchase the same quantity of goods in any country for a given sum of money. That is, the notion that a dollar should buy the same amount in all countries. Hence if a poor person in a poor country living on a dollar a day moved to Canada with no changes to their income, they would still be living on a dollar a day.

The chart below is from the World Bank and it shows the percentage of world popultaion below regional poverty levels based on various income distributions.

More information on this can be found at the Poverty Facts and Stats website and information about Canada’s placement in world per capita income can be found at the Conference Board of Canada website.