User:JustinePorto/Public toilets in Laos

Public toilets in Laos are generally few in number and are squat toilets that charge a small fee. Laos-Chian Railway Firm improved their public toilet facilities at the Vientiane railway station in 2022.

Public toilets
There are not many public toilets in Laos. A number of those that do exist, especially in places like bus stations, charge a small usage fee. Most are squat toilets, with manual flushing. A 2021 study found there were two public toilets per 100,000 people. The most common place to find public toilets is in airports and bus stations. The most popular style of toilet is the squat toilet. In rural towns, open defecation is frequently practices. When traveling on long distances on public roads, it is culturally acceptable to stop and engage in open defecation. This can sometimes be dangerous as parts of the country still have unexploded ordinance like land mines.

Laos-Chian Railway Firm improved their facilities at the Vientiane railway station in 2022, including their public toilets.

Regional and global situation impacting public toilets in Laos
Around 2.5 billion people around the world in 2018 did not have access to adequate toilet facilities. Around 4.5 billion people lacked access to proper sanitation. Around 675 million people in South Asia practiced open defecation in 2016. This was more than any other region in the world. An issue in developing countries is toilet access in schools. Only 46% of schools in developing countries have them. Many schools around the world in 2018 did not have toilets, with the problem particularly acute in parts of Africa and Asia. Only one in five primary schools on earth had a toilet and only one in eight secondary schools had public toilets. Public toilet access has been used intentionally in South Asia to exclude certain segments of the population from participating in public life. Western public toilet standards including privatization and limited opening hours disadvantage women when implemented in countries in the Far East. In many places in rural Asia, having toilets in a house is considered unclean. As a result, toilets are often located outside the main building for a residence or people practice open defecation because of a lack of toilet access in their homes.

Western style sit toilets are more popular among the emerging middle and upper class around the world. Toilet paper and flush toilets were introduced relatively recently in many parts of Asia. They often are not found in public toilets, and may only be found in hotels catering to international guests and wealth clients. Across Southeast Asia in places where Western style flush toilets are found, many do not have toilet seats. These toilets may also not automatically flush, requiring manual flushing.

Toilets can often be found on more modern long distance buses in Asia. For shorter trips or on older buses, they are much less common. Where toilets are not available on long distance buses, buses often make stops for toilet breaks. Sometimes the stops are in open fields. Many youth hostels and hotels catering to backpackers in Asia do not provide toilet paper.

ASEAN developed a plan in 2002 that they asked to be implemented in member countries to expand public toilet access across the countries it represents. The goal was in part to help expand tourist infrastructure and improve regional economics.