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Finished product · Electronics and appliances

Laptop

One laptop of 2,706 g, the average of 16 disassembled models from 1999 to 2011

This page shows what the product is made of and where each figure comes from. It does not show a death toll. The toll is calculated from this list of materials, and will be published only once it has a range and the model has passed its test on past years.

The average laptop of a disassembly study of sixteen models from 1999 to 2011: 2,706 g, of which 28.3% plastics, 15.4% aluminium, 14% lithium-ion battery, 12.4% circuit board, 11.5% steel, 8.2% display glass and 1.8% copper. Today's laptops are lighter, so this is an old laptop, and its battery's metals are not yet traced.

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The human cost, per item

One item is one laptop of 2,706 g, the average of 16 disassembled models from 1999 to 2011. Scenario Conservative, using FIGARO 2023. Each figure is the middle result of 2,000 runs of the calculation, with the range that holds nine in ten of them beside it, and the grade that range earns.

Deaths

2.1 × 10⁻⁷ per item(0.78–4.6 × 10⁻⁷)LOWS-CONS · run 2151 · methodology v0.1 · data dv-20261007-44r

Deaths per item: the rangeThe range that holds nine in ten of the runs, on a scale where each step is ten times the last: 0.78–4.6 × 10⁻⁷. The dot is the middle result; a figure graded indicative has none.10⁻⁸10⁻⁷10⁻⁶10⁻⁵

The product’s list of materials traces 55% of its weight to raw materials the model knows. The rest carries no harm in this method, which is why this method gives a floor.

Injuries

7.7 × 10⁻⁷ per item(0.29–1.7 × 10⁻⁶)LOWS-CONS · run 2151 · methodology v0.1 · data dv-20261007-44r

Injuries per item: the rangeThe range that holds nine in ten of the runs, on a scale where each step is ten times the last: 0.29–1.7 × 10⁻⁶. The dot is the middle result; a figure graded indicative has none.10⁻⁸10⁻⁷10⁻⁶10⁻⁵

The product’s list of materials traces 55% of its weight to raw materials the model knows. The rest carries no harm in this method, which is why this method gives a floor.

Deaths and injuries at work in these figures come from the 53 countries that reported work deaths and the 52 that reported work injuries for 2023.

Harm at work is counted as each country reports it to the UN’s labour statistics (ILOSTAT), and never estimated for a country that did not report: such a country is missing from that year, not counted as zero. So when two years’ figures differ, part of the difference can be a change in which countries reported. The model’s own year-to-year checks compare only countries that reported in both years.

Deaths: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Rep., Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, United States, Uzbekistan

Injuries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, United States, Uzbekistan

The money method — per €1,000 spent

Two methods, never added together. The materials method counts only what the product’s list of materials reaches, so it is a floor. The money method counts the whole supply chain of the industry for each euro spent, so in principle it misses nothing — but it cannot see what this particular product is made of.

In human terms

One death for every 2.2 million – 13 million items.

By the money method, about €1.1 billion – €2.7 billion of spending in its industry for each death.

Rounded so that it stays within the range, so the sentence never claims more than the range does.

Under each scenario

Five answers to how much of the harm counted in a place is linked to its economy. Same product, same year, same trade table: only the rule for linking harm to the economy changes.

Deaths per item under each scenarioEach line is one scenario’s range, on a scale where each step is ten times the last; the dot is its middle result.10⁻⁸10⁻⁷10⁻⁶10⁻⁵S-MAXEconomic-embeddedS-EVIDEvidence-weightedS-RESResource-onlyS-ARMSArms and resourcesS-CONSConservative

Where it comes from

By raw material — the materials method

By raw material — the materials methodEach bar is one contributor’s share of the deaths in this figure; the rest is grouped last.Gold — 99%Gold99%Silver — 0.74%Silver0.74%Copper — 0.55%Copper0.55%Coal and lignite — <0.1%Coal and lignite<0.1%Tin — <0.1%Tin<0.1%Tantalum — <0.1%Tantalum<0.1%Bauxite — <0.1%Bauxite<0.1%Zinc — <0.1%Zinc<0.1%Everything else — <0.1%Everything else<0.1%

By industry — the money method

By industry — the money methodEach bar is one contributor’s share of the deaths in this figure; the rest is grouped last.Mining and quarrying — 42%Mining and quarrying42%Manufacture of basic metals — 23%Manufacture of basic metals23%Water transport — 7.4%Water transport7.4%Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products — 6.3%Manufacture of computer, elec…6.3%Land transport and transport via pipelines — 5.7%Land transport and transport …5.7%Air transport — 4.5%Air transport4.5%Warehousing and support activities for transportation — 3.2%Warehousing and support activ…3.2%Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities — 1.6%Crop and animal production, h…1.6%Everything else — 6.6%Everything else6.6%

Where the harm was counted

Where the harm was countedEach dot is a country, placed at its capital, sized by its share of the deaths in this figure.Sudan 75%Burkina Faso 17%Mexico — 3.9%Mali — 3.7%Colombia — 0.37%Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.24%Ukraine — <0.1%Russian Federation — <0.1%Canada — <0.1%United States — <0.1%Poland — <0.1%Uzbekistan — <0.1%Australia — <0.1%Argentina — <0.1%Turkiye — <0.1%Greece — <0.1%Mongolia — <0.1%Portugal — <0.1%Germany — <0.1%Czechia — <0.1%Bulgaria — <0.1%Thailand — <0.1%Slovak Republic — <0.1%Georgia — <0.1%Japan — <0.1%Romania — <0.1%Norway — <0.1%
Each circle is a country, at its capital, sized by its share of the deaths in this figure. The largest are named; point at or tap any other circle to see its name.
Every material, in full
By raw material — the materials method
MaterialShareDeaths per item
Gold 99%2.1 × 10⁻⁷
Silver 0.74%1.6 × 10⁻⁹
Copper 0.55%1.2 × 10⁻⁹
Coal and lignite <0.1%1.4 × 10⁻¹⁰
Tin <0.1%5.3 × 10⁻¹¹
Tantalum <0.1%1.1 × 10⁻¹¹
Bauxite <0.1%1.0 × 10⁻¹¹
Zinc <0.1%7.4 × 10⁻¹²
Nickel <0.1%6.4 × 10⁻¹²
Iron ore <0.1%4.4 × 10⁻¹²

The chain, step by step

The largest step at each stage of the model. Each links to the full account, where every stage adds up to the headline figure.

  1. Laptop
  2. Gold 99% of the figure
  3. Sudan 75% of the figure
  4. Conflict and political violence 100% of the figure
  5. Sudan: Government 75% of the figure

The full breakdown →

Sources behind this figure

Every data file that went into this figure in this calculation, with the credit its licence asks for.

What this figure is not

Production phase only. Harm from using the product — driving the car, charging the phone — is not in this figure.

How to read these numbers →

Beside the most similar products

The two products whose deaths per kilogram are closest to this one’s, by the materials method.

Cite this figure

HumanToll 2026, run 2151, methodology v0.1. https://quiescence.eu/humantoll/product/laptop/

What it is made of

Each line is one part of one laptop of 2,706 g, the average of 16 disassembled models from 1999 to 2011: how much of it goes in, how much had to be produced to get that much (some is wasted along the way), and where the figure comes from.

What it is made of
Component Quantity Source
Aluminium
part 		417 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Aluminum 15.4% of 2706 g
Copper
part 		48.7 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Copper 1.8% of 2706 g
Steel
part 		311 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Steel 11.5% of 2706 g
Plastics — polymers not identified by the source
part 		766 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Plastic 28.3% of 2706 g
Lithium-ion battery — composition not yet sourced
part 		379 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Li-ion battery 14% of 2706 g
Printed circuit board assembly
part 		336 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
PCB 12.4% of 2706 g
Flat panel display glass
part 		222 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Flat panel glass 8.2% of 2706 g
Other metals
part 		157 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Other metals 5.8% of 2706 g
Other materials
part 		67.7 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Others 2.5% of 2706 g
Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (industry)
remainder 		2.71 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
the published shares add to 99.9%; the rounding is a remainder

Down to raw materials

The whole chain worked out — everything one laptop of 2,706 g, the average of 16 disassembled models from 1999 to 2011 needs, through every product in between, with all the waste along the way included.

Down to raw materials
Input Per item
Bauxite 1.71 kg
Coal and lignite 190 g
Copper 121 g
Gold 0.134 g
Iron ore 366 g
Nickel 3.46 g
Silver 0.436 g
Tantalum 0.0336 g
Tin 10.5 g
Zinc 2.45 g
Electricity, electric arc furnace route (not in the register) 0.222 MJ
Flat panel display glass (not in the register) 222 g
Lead (not in the register) 6.24 g
Limestone (not in the register) 69.4 g
Lithium-ion battery — composition not yet sourced (not in the register) 379 g
Non-metallic fraction — glass fibre, epoxy resin and other (not in the register) 219 g
Other materials (not in the register) 67.7 g
Other metals (not in the register) 157 g
Palladium (not in the register) 0.168 g
Plastics — polymers not identified by the source (not in the register) 766 g
Recycled steel (scrap) (not in the register) 96.8 g
Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (industry) 2.71 g

An input marked “not in the register” is counted by weight but is not yet linked to any supply chain. Services such as transport appear as the euros, or tonnes carried a kilometre, that the list of materials gives them.

How much of it is known in detail

100% of this product’s weight is listed in detail in its own list of materials.

Its whole chain uses 4.39 kg of materials, waste included. 55% of that is raw materials the model knows — the part it can trace harm to — 45% is inputs not yet on the list, and 0% is an openly stated remainder.

The rest — 2.71 g — is an openly stated remainder: the published composition covered only part of the product, so the rest is treated as an average product of its industry rather than made up.

In the table of what industries buy from each other it belongs to “Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products” (FIGARO industry C26).

In the table of what industries buy from each other it belongs to “Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products” (FIGARO industry C26).

Sources

Products →

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