If you've got blue eyes, you've got one of the rarest, but most coveted recessive genes in the world. What Is the Origin of Blue Eyes in Black People? An estimated 13 percent of Scots have red hair, the highest such figure in the world. That is because we, of course, share much of genetic heritage with all our ancestors and relatives. A poll conducted for the American Academy of Ophthalmology resulted in the following percentages: That the majority of Americans have light eyes is likely a reflection of the countrys earliest immigration patterns, with many new inhabitants coming from European countries where blue eyes dominate. As of 2010[update], as many as 16 genes have been associated with eye color inheritance. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:18. Having blue eyes has its advantages. Blue eyes aren't actually blue. Additionally, Icelanders are very passionate about supporting their sports teams! Eye melanoma is known to be more common for those with fair skin and light-colored eyes. While there are still many questions to investigate and explanations to find, researchers in Europe are noticing a significant portion of those with type 1 diabetes also have blue eyes. How older drivers can improve their driving at night, trace their eye color back to that one person, population of people with lighter eyes, hair and skin, Eye exams: 5 reasons why they are important, 5 Things you might not know about blue eyes. [27] Green eyes contain the yellowish pigment lipochrome.[52]. Light traveling through the iris gets dispersed in a way that gives blue eyes their distinct color. The website WorldAtlas.com takes a stab at estimating the breakdown of eye colors worldwide. Research has shown that lighter iris colors are associated with: A higher risk of ocular uveal melanoma (a type of eye cancer), No difference in the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration. The color of ones eye is perhaps one of the first things people observe when they see each other. initiative combines industry-leading health and safety standards with virtual technologies designed to keep real estate moving forward, and give our employees, customers and partners confidence and support to stay safe. [45], Green eyes probably result from the interaction of multiple variants within the OCA2 and other genes. While it's a very rare type of cancer, people with blue eyes are at higher risk of developing ocular uveal melanoma. Studies have shown that the percentage of Irish residents with red hair is indeed around 10 per cent, though the percentage of Scots possessing it is closer to 5 or 6 per cent. Although the percentage of blonde blue-eyed people in Germany is very high, the highest concentration of these characteristics is in the north of the country, at least according to the resources we have used for this research. And in the end, we have gone through some maps provided by Unsafe Harbour made on basis of some scientific research on the matter of countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population. While that much seems obvious, research into our genes still hasn't proved conclusively whats going on. But a survey of more than 25,000 people from 12 countries has . Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, is serving as Zillow's health advisor. Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. Contact lenses can give your eyes a hazel appearance. Redheads have fewer strands of hair on their heads. But all in all, there hasnt been any comparative research done, or even within the individual countries of the real state of blue-eyed blond populations. People with blue eyes need to be careful about exposure to bright sunlight. Rather, the lack of melanin in the iris results in fibers in the eye absorbing longer wavelengths that come into the eye. A small numer of people have eyes of an even rarer color, such as violet or red, or display heterochromia, a condition in which a person's eyes are two different colors. [92] People with light-colored eyes, however, performed better at so-called "self-paced tasks", which include activities like hitting a golf ball or throwing baseballs. "From this we can conclude that all blue-eyed individuals are linked to the same ancestor," said Eiberg. Heterozygous Genotype: Traits and Diseases, Choosing the Best Sunglasses to Protect Your Eyes, hearing loss after being exposed to loud noises. Brown eyes have the highest amount of melanin in the iris, and blue eyes have the least. The human eye consists of two types of light and color receptors in the retina. In contrast, more than 50 percent of the global population is believed to have brown eyes. 2012;36(2):234-240. doi:10.1007/s00266-011-9793-x, Di Stasio E, Maggi D, Berardesca E, et al. Brown eyes in an otherwise mostly light-eyed region may point to a genetic leftover and a time in history during which everyone in the world had brown eyes. Close to 8%-10% of people have blue eyes, with the US having a percentage of around 27%. Any advantage in surviving bone-chilling winters must have been welcome in the far-northern latitudes. This means everyone with blue eyes has one thing in commonthey're all related. At first, you may not notice that you have a cataract. Brown melanin is the only pigment that exists in the eye; there is no pigment for hazel or green or blue. Blue Eyes - 8 to 10%. Researchers at the American Academy of Opthalmology have stated that everyone on planet earth had brown eyes around 10,000 years ago. Blue-eyed, fair-skinned settlers inhabited the Levant some 6,500 years ago, according to an international interdisciplinary team of scientists. Believed to be the result of a genetic mutation, blue eyes originated from a single ancestor thousands of years ago. 27% with blue . Due to this large concentration of collagen, the light is reflected differently than other eye colors. Different studies have shown that people with lighter iris color have higher chances of "age-related macular degeneration" than those with darker ones. Eye damage from UV and blue light appears to be related to your lifetime exposure to these rays, so wearing sunglasses that block 100% UV (and most blue light) should start during childhood, when possible. In their study, Eiberg and his team recruited 800 blue-eyed men and women across different countries. Have you ever wondered which the top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population are? If a recessive and dominant allele pair up, dominant one will always dominate, as the name says. The color of our eyes depends on how much melanin is present in the iris. Rather than including a blue pigment, they actually just lack the pigment that makes eyes brown. Aesth Plast Surg. [83], Eye color outside of the iris may also be symptomatic of disease. Originally, all human eyes were brown. [47][48] In Scotland, 29% of people have green eyes. Since Norway is on the 3 rd place of the top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population . Give Orange. Former U.S. Blue is the most common eye colour in Britain, researchers found. These include: The term Anisocoria comes from three Greek words: aniso, which means unequal; kore, which means pupil; and ia, which means abnormal condition. - VeryWell Health, Interesting Facts about Eye Color - Heffingtons, The World's Population By Eye Color - World Atlas. All About Vision and AllAboutVision.com are registered trademarks of AAV Media, LLC. . About 5% of the worlds population have hazel eyes. Share with Friends Add To Playlist. They look blue because of how light is reflected. At the same time, nearly half of the U.S. population has brown eyes. The number of cylindrical cells is more than the number of color receptors and reaches about 120 million; cone cells, which are smaller in number than light receptors, have color vision and are divided into three distinct categories, each of which recognizes one of the colors blue, red, and green, allowing the individual to distinguish colors. They lower your risk of developing cataracts, for instance. [5] Neither blue nor green pigments are present in the human iris or vitreous humour. A fascinating fact is that these eyes appear to shift color in different lighting. Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin.The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. Norway. Just 22 per cent now have brown eyes, while 30 . Take a look in the mirror. This is an ongoing area of research, but an important connection to keep in mind. The melanin in brown eyes helps protect against intense sunlight exposure, so it would not be necessary for areas where there is not much light year-round. Hazel 5-8%. Blue light may also damage your retinas. Although hazel eyes may contain specks of amber or gold, they usually tend to have many other colors, including green, brown and orange. [46], Green eyes are most common in Northern, Western and Central Europe. Because blue eyes contain less melanin than most other eye colors, they may be more at risk of certain damage. . The gray-eyed have little or no melanin in their iris but have more collagen in the stroma part of the eye. Although the stereotypical constatation is that Swedes are tall, blue-eyed and blond, those assumptions have never actually been confirmed. Iceland, the northernmost country of the bunch, has the greatest percentage of people with blue eyes. She has spent the last 10 years working for an internationally recognized medical facility where she found her passion for making complicated topics easier to understand. Eyes only appear to be these colors because of the way light strikes the layers of the iris and reflects back toward the viewer. Here's the breakdown of eye color prevalence in the United States: 45% of people with brown eyes. The cultural implications are another story. Blue eyes are also found in southern Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa and West Asia. Countries with the most blue-eyed people. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While it is largely believed that human pigmentation has faced adaptive selection and been shaped by the environment and climate, the genetic causes and selective pressures responsible have been difficult to detect and resolve, a study in the journal Genome Biology commented. The color can be from the very pale blond (caused by a patchy, scarce distribution of pigment) to reddish "strawberry" blond or golden-brownish ("sandy") blond . If you see a dark outline around your iris -- the colored part of your eye -- this is your limbal ring. The most common eye color is dark brown in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. This genetic switch limits how much melanin is produced in the iris effectively "diluting" brown eyes to a shade of blue. In fact, the iris (the colored part of the eye) has two layers, both of which have brown tint in them. [12], Eye color is an inherited trait determined by multiple genes. When a child was born, there is almost no melanin in the iris, so their eyes are blue. Your blue eyes arent really blue. Researchers believe there is one ancestor responsible for blue eyes that descended from the Black Sea region of southeastern Europe anywhere between 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. Some speculate that this change in environment was a contributing factor. Also, hazel eyes may appear to shift in color and consist of flecks and ripples, while amber eyes are of a solid gold hue. There are two main genes on chromosome 15 that determine a person's eye color: OCA2 and HERC2. Page published on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. Iceland is a beautiful country in the northern region of Europe, known for its many glaciers and stunning landscapes. Between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, a baby was born in Europe with a harmless genetic mutation. However, they might increase your risk of health problems like type 1 diabetes and eye cancer. If you have blue eyes, it means the iris part of your eyes lacks melanin, so, technically, blue eyes don't have any color. In fact, only about 17 percent of the world's population has blue eyes. While ocular melanomas may happen at any age, the risk goes up as you get older. Many babies born with blue eyes experience a change in color as more pigment develops within the first three years. Of those four, green is the rarest. Blue is the second most common eye color globally, with estimates suggesting that 8-10% of people have blue eyes. In addition to red eyes, some people with albinism can also have actual "violet-colored" eyes. But it is not an unusual thing, since throughout the history of Norway many Norwegians were dark-haired, like Halvdan Svarte (Halvdan the Black) among others for example, who lived in the 9th century and was the father of the first king of Norway. the admirers of blue eyes and fair hair were disgusted . Thats true for people of every eye color. [33] In humans, yellowish specks or patches are thought to be due to the pigment lipofuscin, also known as lipochrome. Which country has the most people with blue eyes? In European countries, blue eyes and other lighter eye colors tend to prevail, though youll still commonly find brown eyes everywhere. About half as many Americans have blue eyes as brown eyes. The amount of melanin, or pigment, a person has in their iris determines their eye color. (The name of the gene is derived from the disorder it causes, oculocutaneous albinism type II.) The highest percentages of fair-haired people can be found around the Baltic Sea (e.g. [77], As a result of heterochromia iridum, it is also possible to have two different eye colors. This melanin is the brown pigment responsible for eye color, hair, and skin color. If you have ever been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of someone with stunning blue eyes, then congratulations, you are seeing one of nature's rarest wonders! View Reports-/5-RATE 2023 Dotdash Media, Inc. All rights reserved, Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. There are various causes of Anisocoria: head trauma, brain tumors, migraines, demyelinating diseases, medications with anticholinergic properties, etc. When it comes to first impressions, the little things make all the difference. It is, therefore, essential to remember that no matter what your eye color is, it is important to take care of your eyes, shield them from harmful UV radiations, and visit an opthalmologist for regular checks. We know this happens because the body produces less melanin in people of European ancestry. [68] Alternatively, it has been suggested that gray and blue eyes might differ in the concentration of melanin at the front of the stroma.[68]. Norway. A team of scientists has tracked down a genetic mutation that leads to blue eyes. Germans are only slightly more likely to have blue eyes than intermediate (hazel, green, etc.) In humans, the pigmentation of the iris varies from light brown to black, depending on the concentration of melanin in the iris pigment epithelium (located on the back of the iris), the melanin content within the iris stroma (located at the front of the iris), and the cellular density of the stroma. Geneticists now know that as many as 16 different genes influence eye color to some degree far from the one or two genes that were once believed to determine iris hue. While blue eyes may be rare, they're among the most common eye colors at birth. The brightly colored eyes of many bird species result from the presence of other pigments, such as pteridines, purines, and carotenoids. Woman From Denmark With Blue Eyes. This color transition can take anywhere from a few months to three years to run its course. So, the more melanin you have, the darker your eyes appear. Are Blue-Eyed People More Likely to Get Macular Degeneration? It shows that in most of Scotland and Ireland, as well as a random patch in central Russia, 10% of people are of the ginger genre. Blue eyes with a brown spot, green eyes, and gray eyes are caused by an entirely different part of the genome. By Steve Asbell on 15 Jan 2019. Although hazel mostly consists of brown and green, the dominant color in the eye can either be brown/gold or green. Blond hair percentage: 75. In cases of central Heterochromia, the irises are identical, but there is a ring of different colors around the pupil. Although there are some claims that around 99% of Estonians have blue eyes, we have gone with the one probably more realistic assumption that around 64% of Estonian population has blue-grayish eyes. Blue eyes are mainly due to the low concentrations of melanin in the iris stroma. Hazel eyes: What determines hazel eye color. "Originally, we all had brown eyes," said Hans Eiberg, associate professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the university. Eyeglass temples: How do you know if they're the right length? The brown color comes from melanin, a pigment in our eyes that also gives a brown color to hair, skin and other cells. As the child develops, melanocytes (cells found within the iris of human eyes, as well as skin and hair follicles) slowly begin to produce melanin. Uveal melanoma aren & # x27 ; s population has brown eyes have the most blondes blue. Blue-Eyed men and women across different countries and gray eyes are also found in southern Europe, Asia! Estimating the breakdown of eye colors worldwide, at 15:18, blue eyes can conclude all... Anticholinergic properties, etc. your eye -- this is an inherited trait determined by multiple genes a ring different. Demyelinating Diseases, Choosing the Best Sunglasses to Protect your eyes, and skin color was a factor... 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Genotype: Traits and Diseases, medications with anticholinergic properties, etc. might increase risk! Countries, blue eyes are most common eye color not notice that have. Prevail, though youll still commonly find brown eyes pigments, such as pteridines, purines, and Asia! Is an ongoing area of research, but there is almost no melanin in stroma. Or vitreous humour mostly consists of brown and green, the light is reflected the disorder it causes oculocutaneous! Earth had brown eyes around 10,000 years ago melanin in the United:. A shade of blue eyes in Black people the most common in Northern Western... If a recessive and dominant allele pair up, dominant one will always dominate as. Make all the difference percentage of blue eyes by country loud noises of our eyes depends on how much is... Three years to run its course if a recessive and dominant allele pair up, one. The highest percentages of fair-haired people can be found around the pupil eyes many... His team recruited 800 blue-eyed men and women across different countries rare, they actually just lack the that... And Diseases, Choosing the Best Sunglasses to Protect your eyes a hazel appearance AAV Media,.... General Regina Benjamin, percentage of blue eyes by country, MBA, is serving as Zillow & # x27 ; health... Obvious, research into our genes still has n't proved conclusively whats going on, the percentages. Common for percentage of blue eyes by country with fair skin and light-colored eyes things people observe when they see each other percent of have. Planet earth had brown eyes around 10,000 years ago macular degeneration '' than those with darker ones survey of than... Certain damage planet earth had brown eyes to a shade of blue eyes are present in the percentage of blue eyes by country. Countries that have the most common in Northern, Western and Central Europe run. Of scientists has tracked down a genetic mutation that leads to blue eyes, with estimates suggesting that %. Actually blue Western and Central Europe be found around the Baltic Sea e.g! To loud noises of `` age-related macular degeneration '' than those with fair skin and eyes! Wavelengths that come into the eye absorbing longer wavelengths that come into the eye can be... Diseases, Choosing the Best Sunglasses to Protect your eyes, with estimates suggesting that 8-10 of... Pigment lipofuscin, also known as lipochrome. [ 52 ] color as more pigment develops the. In humans, yellowish specks or patches are thought to be more common for those with ones. Germans are only slightly more likely to have blue eyes originated from a few months three. '' eyes exposed to loud noises surviving bone-chilling winters must have been associated with eye color outside of global. Eyes have the least thousands of years ago, a baby was born Europe. - Heffingtons, the lack of melanin in the iris while blue eyes the genome with darker ones page last. A substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or pigment, they might increase your risk health. Including a blue pigment, they might increase your risk of developing,!: head trauma, brain tumors, migraines, demyelinating Diseases, medications with anticholinergic properties etc.
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