Matters of Scale - Into the Toilet

Bottom Lines


Estimated sales of toilet paper in the United States (2005) US$5.7 billion
In Canada US$643 million
In India US$7.7 million

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Population of the United States 300 million
Of Canada 33 million
Of India 1.13 billion

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Per capita annual consumption of toilet tissue in North America 23.0 kg
In Western Europe 13.8 kg
In Latin America 4.2 kg
In Asia 1.8 kg
In Africa 0.4 kg

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Number of people globally without access to adequate sanitary toilets 2.6 billion
Number of countries where more than two-thirds of people are without adequate sanitary access to toilets 30
Number of these that are in Africa 20

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Percentage of people with access to adequate sanitary toilets in United States 100
In Canada 100
In India 33
In Ethiopia 13
In Eritrea and Chad 9

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SOURCES: Toilet paper sales: Euromonitor International. Populations: CIA World Fact Book. Annual consumption: European Tissue Symposium. Toilet access: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.

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Published in World Watch Magazine, July/August 2007, Volume 20, No. 4