Colombia: 1973, 1985, 1993
Kenya: 1989, 1999
Mexico: 1970, 1990, 2000
United States: 1960, 1970
Vietnam: 1989, 1999

Colombia 1973: All households.
Colombia 1985-1993: Occupied [not vacant] dwellings.
Kenya 1989: Not group quarters.
Kenya 1999: All households.
Mexico 1970: All households.
United States 1960-1970: Not group quarters.
Vietnam 1989: All households with dwelling information.
Vietnam 1999: All households.

TOILET indicates whether the household had access to a toilet, regardless of the type of toilet facilities.

The question was not always addressed in the same way. While some censuses directly asked, "Does this household have a toilet?" others asked, "Where do the members of this household go to the toilet?" The latter is the case for the 1989 and 1999 Kenyan censuses.

The U.S. samples and the 1970 Mexican sample are not comparable with other samples. The "no" response here means only that the household lacked a flush toilet; it may have had another type of toilet.

The Colombian censuses are fully comparable with each other. The question refers to the dwelling, and the toilet may have been used by one or more households.

The Kenyan censuses are comparable with each other, but they posed the question differently than other countries. In the Kenyan censuses, the question was: "Where do members of this household dispose of human waste?" There is no mention of whether the toilet is physically in the household. The responses "main sewer," "septic tank," and "cess pool" were coded as "toilet in the household." "Pit latrine," "bucket latrine," and "bush" were coded as "no toilet in the household."

The 1990 and 2000 Mexican censuses are fully comparable with each other. The 1970 Mexican census asks only whether the household had a toilet with running water. A "no" response does not imply that the household had no other type of toilet.

In the U.S. samples, the "no" category means only the lack of an indoor flush toilet.

There are no problems of comparability.