How can gdp per capita and poverty rates indicate standards of living in each system?

GDP per capita means the $ amount produced domestically in a country's economy. Per capita means per person. GDP per capita, therefore means dividing the GDP by the number of people in the work force. If you get a low number relative to other countries, that would be an indication that the country you are evaluating does not produce much. An economy that doesn't produce much is likely to have high unemployment. There is a term called "poverty threshold." In the U.S., for example, if a family is living at or below the poverty threshold, that family is techinically considered to be poor. If a country has a high percentage of families living at or below the poverty threshold, then needless to say, this would indicate that that country has some serious economic problems. Standards of living, by country, is a way to compare the worth of a country's money, against how much money it takes for a person to live comfortably in that country. From this point, a comparison can be made between different countries. A ranking list could then be produced