Each year on November 19, the world celebrates one of "the most pivotal inventions in human history"—the toilet.
Taken for granted, toilets save countless lives each year and during the last two centuries, have been credited for adding twenty years to the human lifespan. However, not everyone has access to one. In 2020, almost half of the world's population—3.6 billion people—lacked safely managed sanitation, according to the World Health Organization. For 3 in 10 people worldwide, soap and water wasn't available for handwashing at home. And almost 300,000 children under age five die annually from diarrheal diseases caused by lack of access to proper sanitation.
To raise awareness of the importance of toilets and suitable sanitation, the United Nations established World Toilet Day in 2013, and two years later, it pledged toilet access for everyone by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals. To celebrate this year's World Toilet Day, we compiled a slideshow of toilets around the world.
