User:JustinePorto/Public toilets in Bolivia

Public toilets in Bolivia are found at a rate of three public toilets per 100,000 people. They can be found at ports, bus stations, long distance buses and higher end shopping centers. The most common type of toilet is a squat toilet and there can be a charge to use. A toilet has been recognized by Lonely Planet.

Public toilets
A 2021 study found there were three public toilets per 100,000 people. Public bathrooms can be found at some ports and bus stations. Long distance buses stop for toilet breaks as toilets are not found on board. There are pay toilets on Lake Titikaka but tourists who refuse to pay will sometimes engage in open defecation.

The most common type of toilet is a squat toilet. Public pay toilets are common. The typical charge to use a public toilet is $B1, and most do not provide toilet paper. Despite the fee, public toilets often are dirty. There are very few wheelchair accessible public toilets.

In 2018, Lonely Planet labeled the public toilets in the Siloli desert as one of the fifteen most interesting in the world. They are nothing more than a sign, encouraging open defecation at a very specific point.

Regional and global situation impacting public toilets in Bolivia
Baño is the most common way to say toilet in Spanish speaking countries. Other words for toilet include aseo, váter, retrete, servicio, lavabo, sanitarios, regadera, bidé, tina, lavamanos and orinal. Men's toilets are called hombres, while women's toilets are called mujeres. Unisex toilets are called baño unisex. Toilet paper is called papel higiénico.

Public toilet access around the world is most acute in the Global South, with around 3.6 billion people, 40% of the world's total population, lacking access to any toilet facilities. 2.3 people in the the Global South do not have toilet facilities in their residence. Despite the fact that the United Nation made a declaration in 2010 that clean water and sanitation is a human right, little has been done in many places towards addressing this on a wider level.

An issue in developing countries is toilet access in schools. Only 46% of schools in developing countries have them. In the early 2000s, it was very rare for public toilets to have wheelchair access anywhere in South America. The few that were available tended to be at upscale shopping centers.

Sit flush toilets are the most common type of toilet in Latin America and South America. Most countries in Latin and South America do not have the sanitation infrastructure to support toilet paper being flushed. Trash cans are typically put next to the toilet to allow for easy disposal of toilet paper.