More people have a mobile phone than a toilet. It's hard to believe, but it's true. At the end of 2011, there were six billion mobile subscriptions, according to The International Telecommunication Union (2011). That is equivalent to 87 percent of the world population.
At the same time, only 63% of the world's population has access to improved sanitation - defined as a sanitation facility that ensures hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact. This is a huge problem, and one that continues to grow. Each year, 60 million people are moving to the world's towns and cities with the majority moving to informal settlements (i.e. slums) with no sanitation facilities. This thatched latrine in Ethiopia gives all who use it a healthier, safer and more dignified life.
More than 2.5 billion people lack a toilet meaning that every day they must find a place to "go". Visit Water.org Sanitation Facts to learn more.
