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Finished product · Electronics and appliances

Smartphone

One smartphone of 135 g, the average of 12 disassembled models from 2004 to 2015

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 smartphone of a disassembly study of twelve models from 2004 to 2015: 135 g, of which 23.7% plastics, 22.6% lithium-ion battery, 14.0% circuit board, 9.9% aluminium, 8.7% other glass, 6.7% display glass, 6.3% steel and 1.2% copper. Phones have grown heavier since, so this is an older phone than the one in a reader's pocket. The battery is weighed but its cobalt, lithium and nickel are not yet traced, and that is the largest gap in this record.

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The human cost, per item

One item is one smartphone of 135 g, the average of 12 disassembled models from 2004 to 2015. Scenario Evidence-weighted, 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

1.6 × 10⁻⁸ per item(0.57–3.5 × 10⁻⁸)LOWS-EVID · run 2193 · 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: 0.57–3.5 × 10⁻⁸. The dot is the middle result; a figure graded indicative has none.10⁻⁹10⁻⁸10⁻⁷10⁻⁶

The product’s list of materials traces 42% 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

5.4 × 10⁻⁸ per item(0.20–1.2 × 10⁻⁷)LOWS-EVID · run 2193 · 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: 0.20–1.2 × 10⁻⁷. The dot is the middle result; a figure graded indicative has none.10⁻⁹10⁻⁸10⁻⁷10⁻⁶

The product’s list of materials traces 42% 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 29 million – 180 million items.

By the money method, about €710 million – €1.7 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.10⁻⁹10⁻⁸10⁻⁷10⁻⁶S-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 — 98%Gold98%Silver — 0.97%Silver0.97%Copper — 0.51%Copper0.51%Coal and lignite — <0.1%Coal and lignite<0.1%Tin — <0.1%Tin<0.1%Zinc — <0.1%Zinc<0.1%Tantalum — <0.1%Tantalum<0.1%Nickel — <0.1%Nickel<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 — 43%Mining and quarrying43%Manufacture of basic metals — 21%Manufacture of basic metals21%Water transport — 8.0%Water transport8.0%Land transport and transport via pipelines — 6.1%Land transport and transport …6.1%Air transport — 4.9%Air transport4.9%Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products — 4.8%Manufacture of computer, elec…4.8%Warehousing and support activities for transportation — 3.4%Warehousing and support activ…3.4%Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles — 1.8%Wholesale trade, except of mo…1.8%Everything else — 6.9%Everything else6.9%

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 58%Burkina Faso 30%Mali 6.6%Mexico 5.0%Colombia — 0.36%Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.19%Russian Federation — <0.1%Ukraine — <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%Portugal — <0.1%Mongolia — <0.1%Germany — <0.1%Czechia — <0.1%Thailand — <0.1%Bulgaria — <0.1%Slovak Republic — <0.1%Georgia — <0.1%Korea, Rep. — <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 98%1.5 × 10⁻⁸
Silver 0.97%1.5 × 10⁻¹⁰
Copper 0.51%8.0 × 10⁻¹¹
Coal and lignite <0.1%6.7 × 10⁻¹²
Tin <0.1%3.4 × 10⁻¹²
Zinc <0.1%7.0 × 10⁻¹³
Tantalum <0.1%7.0 × 10⁻¹³
Nickel <0.1%4.3 × 10⁻¹³
Bauxite <0.1%3.3 × 10⁻¹³
Iron ore <0.1%1.7 × 10⁻¹³

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. Smartphone
  2. Gold 98% of the figure
  3. Sudan 58% of the figure
  4. Conflict and political violence 100% of the figure
  5. Sudan: Government 58% 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 2193, methodology v0.1. https://quiescence.eu/humantoll/product/smartphone/

What it is made of

Each line is one part of one smartphone of 135 g, the average of 12 disassembled models from 2004 to 2015: 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 		13.4 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Aluminum 9.9% of 135 g
Copper
part 		1.62 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Copper 1.2% of 135 g
Steel
part 		8.51 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Steel 6.3% of 135 g
Plastics — polymers not identified by the source
part 		32.0 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Plastic 23.7% of 135 g
Lithium-ion battery — composition not yet sourced
part 		30.5 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Li-ion battery 22.6% of 135 g
Printed circuit board assembly
part 		18.9 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
PCB 14.0% of 135 g
Flat panel display glass
part 		9.05 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Flat panel glass 6.7% of 135 g
Other glass
part 		11.7 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Other glass 8.7% of 135 g
Other metals
part 		3.38 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Other metals 2.5% of 135 g
Other materials
part 		5.54 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
Others 4.1% of 135 g
Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (industry)
remainder 		0.405 g Babbitt, Madaka, Althaf et al. (2020), Disassembly-based bill of materials data for consu… · low
the published shares add to 99.7%; the rounding is a remainder

Down to raw materials

The whole chain worked out — everything one smartphone of 135 g, the average of 12 disassembled models from 2004 to 2015 needs, through every product in between, with all the waste along the way included.

Down to raw materials
Input Per item
Bauxite 55.7 g
Coal and lignite 5.39 g
Copper 5.67 g
Gold 0.00756 g
Iron ore 10.4 g
Nickel 0.195 g
Silver 0.0246 g
Tantalum 0.00189 g
Tin 0.593 g
Zinc 0.138 g
Electricity, electric arc furnace route (not in the register) 0.00630 MJ
Flat panel display glass (not in the register) 9.05 g
Lead (not in the register) 0.352 g
Limestone (not in the register) 1.97 g
Lithium-ion battery — composition not yet sourced (not in the register) 30.5 g
Non-metallic fraction — glass fibre, epoxy resin and other (not in the register) 12.3 g
Other glass (not in the register) 11.7 g
Other materials (not in the register) 5.54 g
Other metals (not in the register) 3.38 g
Palladium (not in the register) 0.00945 g
Plastics — polymers not identified by the source (not in the register) 32.0 g
Recycled steel (scrap) (not in the register) 2.74 g
Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (industry) 0.405 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 188 g of materials, waste included. 42% of that is raw materials the model knows — the part it can trace harm to — 58% is inputs not yet on the list, and 0% is an openly stated remainder.

The rest — 0.405 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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