According to data released by the Department of Census and Statistics, more than thirteen thousand families in Sri Lanka currently live without access to proper toilet facilities, forcing them to defecate in forests or along beaches.
The report states that Sri Lanka has a total of 6,111,315 families. Of this number, 0.2% — equivalent to 13,326 families — do not have sanitary toilet facilities.
The data further reveals that 92.2% of households in the country use private toilets, while 5.8% of families share a single toilet. In addition, 0.2% of households rely on public toilets, and another 0.2% lack any toilet facilities whatsoever, leading them to use natural environments such as jungle streams and coastal areas for defecation.
Colombo District records the highest number of families using public toilets, amounting to 4,518 households. The district also has 207 families without access to any type of formal toilet. Meanwhile, Nuwara Eliya District has the highest number of families sharing a single toilet.
