Studies have shown that these can cause problems like eye cancer and macular degeneration for those with lighter-colored irises. These people make up about 9% of the U.S. population. 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. In other words, it's impossible to know for sure if your children will have blue eyes or any other color. 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. Even people with the lightest blue eyes, with no melanin on the front of the iris at all, have dark brown coloration on the back of it, to prevent light from scattering around inside the eye. By Steve Asbell on 15 Jan 2019. Bookmark Quiz Bookmark Quiz Bookmark. A global view of the OCA2-HERC2 region and pigmentation. Some speculate that this change in environment was a contributing factor. Brown is the most common eye colour. Brown eyes have the highest amount of melanin in the iris, and blue eyes have the least. In addition, OCA2 and HERC2 are the two major genes associated with the variation in eye colors. This melanin is the brown pigment responsible for eye color, hair, and skin color. Eye color is a polygenic phenotypic character determined by two factors: the pigmentation of the eye's iris and the frequency-dependence of the scattering of light by the turbid medium in the stroma of the iris. A baby's eyes may be blue during this time, but later change color. For other uses, see. [55] Eiberg and colleagues suggested in a study published in Human Genetics that a mutation in the 86th intron of the HERC2 gene, which is hypothesized to interact with the OCA2 gene promoter, reduced expression of OCA2 with subsequent reduction in melanin production. ", "Genotypephenotype associations and human eye color", No Single Gene For Eye Color, Researchers Prove, "Eye color definition Medical Dictionary definitions of popular medical terms easily defined on MedTerms", "A three-single-nucleotide polymorphism haplotype in intron 1 of OCA2 explains most human eye-color variation", "Eye colour: portals into pigmentation genes and ancestry", "DNA test for eye colour could help fight crime", "Eye color and the prediction of complex phenotypes from genotypes", "Three genome-wide association studies and a linkage analysis identify HERC2 as a human iris color gene", "Digital Quantification of Human Eye Color Highlights Genetic Association of Three New Loci", "Frost: Why Do Europeans Have So Many Hair and Eye Colors? Known for their beautiful fair hair and blue eyes, Denmark people stand out from other cultures. All About Vision does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. That's 13 million people, out of the 7.6 billion on Earth. [83], Eye color outside of the iris may also be symptomatic of disease. Since the inner ear uses melanin, and blue eyes come from a lack of melanin, some researchers hypothesize there may be a link between eye color and acquired hearing loss. On average, they have 90,000 strands, while blondes . Just 2.2 percent of male CEOs had blond hair, a 2005 study found. This is why regular eye exams repay your investment many times over. In the same way, you can get melanoma on your skin, you can also get melanoma in your eye. Can You Have One Blue Eye and One Brown Eye? ", "Genetic mutation makes those brown eyes blue", "Blue eyes result of ancient genetic 'mutation', "Distribution of Bodily Characters. That doesn't necessarily mean that the parents themselves have to have blue eyes; it's possible they carry the gene, but it is recessive. Time for Heating Systems 101. So, the more melanin you have, the darker your eyes appear. More than 80 percent of the inhabitants of Estonia and Scandinavian countries have blue eyes. The brown color comes from melanin, a pigment in our eyes that also gives a brown color to hair, skin and other cells. In the US, 45% of people have brown eyes, while the rarest eye color is green only 9% of people in the US have green eyes. Blue-eyed, fair-skinned settlers inhabited the Levant some 6,500 years ago, according to an international interdisciplinary team of scientists. This means everyone with blue eyes has one thing in commonthey're all related. [74][75][76] Eyes that appear red or violet under certain conditions due to albinism are less than 1 percent of the world's population. 27% with blue . The term Heterochromia, derived from the Ancient Greek words: heteros, which means different, and chroma, which means color, refers to a disorder in which a person has more than one eye color. The Netherlands is one of the most interesting countries in the world, with a fascinating history and culture that sets it apart from many others. Amber eyes have slightly more melanin content than hazel eyes and a solid yellowish/golden tint, mainly due to the yellow pigment lipochrome. Hazel eyes are most common in North Africa, the Middle East, Brazil, and Spain. Amber eyes have a little more melanin than hazel eyes, and still account for approximately 5% of the population. [29] Brown eyes are common in Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Americas. "Blue eyes are seen as powerful. Blue eyes are more concentrated in certain regions than others. [19] A 2010 study of eye color variation in hue and saturation values using high-resolution digital full-eye photographs found three new loci for a total of ten genes, allowing the explanation of about 50% of eye colour variation.[20]. Estonia is the country most known for its fair-skinned, blue-eyed population, followed closely by Finland. [19] Iceland, the northernmost country of the bunch, has the greatest percentage of people with blue eyes. [10][11] However, OCA2 gene polymorphism, close to proximal 5' regulatory region, explains most human eye-color variation. Definitions of the eye color hazel vary: it is sometimes considered to be synonymous with light brown or gold, as in the color of a hazelnut shell. [7] Humans and other animals have many phenotypic variations in eye color. ", Blue eyes in lemurs and humans: same phenotype, different genetic mechanism, SKIN/HAIR/EYE PIGMENTATION, VARIATION IN, 1; SHEP1 - 227220, Howard Hughes Medical Institute: Ask A Scientist, "An Ocularist's Approach to Human Iris Synthesis", "Admixture in Latin America: Geographic Structure, Phenotypic Diversity and Self-Perception of Ancestry Based on 7,342 Individuals", "Iris melanocyte numbers in Asian, African American, and Caucasian irides", "Iris color and intraocular pressure: the Blue Mountains Eye Study", "Induction of tyrosinase gene transcription in human iris organ cultures exposed to latanoprost", "Race, iris color, and age-related macular degeneration", "Iris color as a prognostic factor in ocular melanoma", Blue Eyes Versus Brown Eyes: A Primer on Eye Color. Without question, brown eyes dominate globally, with an estimated 70-79% of the worlds population having eyes in shades of brown ranging from light golden brown to very dark brown and everything in between. They lower your risk of developing cataracts, for instance. Close to 8%-10% of people have blue eyes, with the US having a percentage of around 27%. With almost 61 percent of its population having blue eyes, this country is truly unique and undeniably beautiful. Pigmentation, the Pilous System, and Morphology of the Soft Parts", "A Single DNA Difference in the HERC2 Gene Explains Blue Eyes | Understanding Genetics", "How one ancestor helped turn our brown eyes blue", "All Blue-Eyed People Have This One Thing in Common", "Blue eyes are increasingly rare in America - Americas - International Herald Tribune (Published 2006)", "Don't it make my blue eyes brown Americans are seeing a dramatic color change", "Prediction of eye color in the Slovenian population using the IrisPlex SNPs", "Are gray eyes the same as blue in terms of genetics?". But lets not get things too scientific at this point. 2011;27(6):609-613. doi:10.1002/dmrr.1214. However, approximately 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, the blue-eyed gene mutation spread. Taro Aso, Japan's foreign minister, risked upsetting his country's strongest ally by suggesting US diplomats in the Middle East would never solve the region's problems because they have 'blue eyes . While eye color is not a defining characteristic of a person, it can be interesting to see how the distribution of different colors varies from place to place. 10 . In 2016, scientists found that our pale skin complexion is inherited from just one man who lived thousands of years ago. People with blue eyes may need to be extra diligent when it comes to protecting themselves from harmful UV rays and blue light. Green 2.0%. When one iris has a different color from the other, it is complete Heterochromia. Hazel/amber is the next rarest of these. So, take these figures with a pinch of salt. [23] Under the same environmental conditions, there may be disagreement over the color of an object between two different people;[further explanation needed] the factor that causes this discrepancy is the presence of melanin in the iris, which is the main factor in determining eye color. (This same effect makes the sky appear blue.). At the end, what we got was a blonde map of Europe. Studies on Caucasian twins, both fraternal and identical, have shown that eye color over time can be subject to change, and major demelanization of the iris may also be genetically determined. For just about everyone, the back layer of each eye is brown. [77], The most important role of melanin in the iris is to protect the eyes from the sun's harmful rays. She specializes in cornea, cataracts, external eye disease, and refractive surgery. In Britain, for example, a 2014 study found that green was more prevalent than brown 30 percent to 22 percent although most were blue, 48 percent. Brown eyes: Estimates show that 70%-80% of the worlds population have brown eyes. Now, geneticists suggest everybody with non-brown eyes can trace their eye color back to that one person. Find an eyecare professional and book online in minutes! Brown melanin is the only pigment that exists in the eye; there is no pigment for hazel or green or blue. All About Vision does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. [13] To meet the need for standardized classification, at once simple yet detailed enough for research purposes, Seddon et al. [24], Almost all mammals have brown or darkly-pigmented irises. Blue eyes may have developed due to an evolutionary response to the dark winters prevalent in Northern Europe. This one person with a genetic mutation had children, and the trait was passed to the next generation. Since I think weve had enough of scientific introduction to this subject, lets now get to meet the top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage ofpopulation. Eiberg studied the DNA of 800 men and women with blue eyes from varying countries ranging from "fair-skinned, blond-haired Scandinavians to dark-skinned, blue-eyed people living in Turkey and . Some eyes have a dark ring around the iris, called a limbal ring. 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. From 6-36 months, cells in the iris start producing melanin and the eye color will change. Why do some people have light blue eyes and others have dark blue? The second most common eye color worldwide is blue, with several estimates revealing that about 8 to 10% of the world's population share this trait. Blue eyes aren't even actually blue. Worldwide, fewer than 9% of people have blue eyes. [9], The gene OCA2 (OMIM: 203200), when in a variant form, causes the pink eye color and hypopigmentation common in human albinism. Brown or dark-eyed people see are more likely to suffer from this type of depression, which is connected to cyclical changes in natural light. Speaking scientifically, blue eye color and natural blond hair are cause of recessive genes (actually alleles, which are forms of a gene) combination, as opposed to dominant genes which are characterised by darker eye and hair colors (of course, recessive and dominant genes are not only responsible for eye and hair color, but for other genetic inheritance as well). How eye color develops and why it changes. An article released Monday in the peer-reviewed . Blue eyes have been common across Europe since prehistoric times. Gray eyes: A rare and beautiful eye color. [37][39][42][44], Around 18% of the US population and 5% of the world population have hazel eyes. Scientists believe that all blue-eyed people can be traced back to a common ancestor, who probably had a genetic mutation that reduced their melanin in the iris. Although people with lighter eye color are generally more sensitive to light because they have less pigment in the iris to protect them from sunlight, there is little to no evidence that eye color has a direct impact on vision qualities such as visual acuity. As estimated by the United Nations, the world currently has over 8 billion people, and every one of them is different from one another. [46], Green eyes are most common in Northern, Western and Central Europe. Protecting your eyes and getting regular check ups is important no matter the color of your irises. Indeed, one study found evidence of blue-eyed hunters and gatherers roaming Spain 7,000 years ago. Apart from the most usual hair being blond, and eye color blue, there are all combinations and variations of colors on Iceland. Hazel eyes: What determines hazel eye color. 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. While researchers have not pinpointed the exact cause yet, they do know that besides age, women with fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes have a significantly higher chance of developing macular degeneration. 9. Stay Safe. They studied the genes that coded blue eyes in all of these individuals. Close to 3% of people in the world have gray eyes. The different types of uveitis are: Anterior uveitis, Intermediate uveitis, Posterior uveitis, and Pan-uveitis. January 2008. Why Do Europeans Have So Many Hair and Eye 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. It is a result of the relative excess or lack of pigment within an iris or part of an iris, which may be inherited or acquired by disease or injury. The website WorldAtlas.com takes a stab at estimating the breakdown of eye colors worldwide. Denmark, the Polish coast and the Baltic states), making it in effect an almost entirely blonde-bounded lake. [9] The earlier belief that blue eye color is a simple recessive trait has been shown to be incorrect. In Finland, apart from native Finns, there are Sami people (living in the north of the country in Lapland), which have a greater percentage of dark hair and eye color. Hazel (sometimes grouped with amber) Green. 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. This damage will cause your vision to become blurrier and more distorteda condition called macular degeneration. Eyeglass temples: How do you know if they're the right length? In most people, the back layer has at least some brown pigment in it, even if their eyes don't look brown. And when you meet a red head with blue eyes, you are looking at the rarest colour combination of all for human beings. Bilirubin thus accumulates in the blood and makes the sclera and skin yellow. Icelandic people demonstrate a strong national pride in preserving their culture. Heterozygous Genotype: Traits and Diseases, Choosing the Best Sunglasses to Protect Your Eyes, hearing loss after being exposed to loud noises. [47][48] In Scotland, 29% of people have green eyes. Brown-eyed individuals, on the other hand, have a lot more variation. It's also the story of the bond she fights to maintain with her 10 year-old sister, Arina. About 93 percent of Han Chinese carry the variant, as do about 70 percent of people in Japan and Thailand, and 60 to 90 percent of American Indians, a population descended from East Asians. So, there's less worry of a vitamin D deficiency for redheads. Green eyes: The most attractive eye color? In their study, Eiberg and his team recruited 800 blue-eyed men and women across different countries. The stunning combination of blue eyes and sandy brown or blonde hair is much sought after in other countries, but very much the norm here. Gray is the second-rarest natural eye color after green, with 3% of the world's population having it. 2. Your genes determine whether you have blue eyes. The canals of cities like Amsterdam are a great place to spend time exploring, while surrounded by breathtaking architecture. Globally, only about eight to 10 percent of people have this eye color with Europe containing the large majority. In addition to genetics, the anatomic structure of the iris can also affect eye color to some degree. In fact, more than half of all Americans age 80 or older either have cataracts or have had surgery to get rid of cataracts. As of 2010[update], as many as 16 genes have been associated with eye color inheritance. Eye color not only affects ones personality but also reflects ones ancestry, the melanin concentration in irises, and even ones current health condition. 3. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:18. Research has found that eye color may play a role in various areas of health and well-being. In addition, flash photography can sometimes cause a "red-eye effect", in which the very bright light from a flash reflects off the retina, which is abundantly vascular, causing the pupil to appear red in the photograph. Is eye color determined by genetics? Normally, there is a thick layer of melanin on the back of the iris. Dissection reveals that the iris pigment epithelium is brownish black due to the presence of melanin. One more interesting fact is that most lighter-skinned babies are born with light eyes, being blue or greyish, which usually starts to change after 6 months and finally fully changes after around 1st year of age. If your current heating system yields cold hands and frozen toes it might be time to upgrade. If you have blue eyes, it means the iris part of your eyes lacks melanin, so, technically, blue eyes don't have any color. Since we are slowly coming to the epicenter top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage ofpopulation, Denmark is the first country of Vikings that we come by. or brown eyes. [26] In European countries, blue eyes and other lighter eye colors tend to prevail, though youll still commonly find brown eyes everywhere. [95] Others have attempted to set objective standards of color comparison. Boys are 3 percent to 5 percent likelier to have blue eyes than girls, but beyond that it's a non-issue -- physiologically speaking. Whether you have blue, brown, green, or hazel eyes, always take good care of your eyes, it will keep them healthy for years to come! 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. An iris that appears golden contains some melanin even at this early age and is likely to turn from blue to green or brown as the infant ages. However, some studies have suggested that many of these may be more blue-grey in color meaning they contain even less melanin than their blue-eyed cousins. Since many people with blue eye color are more sensitive to light and may have a higher risk of retinal damage from UV rays, eye doctors often recommend that people with blue eyes be a little more cautious about their exposure to sunlight. Unsurprisingly, another Scandinavian country has placed itself third on our list of countries with the highest percentage of blond hair citizens. An iris that appears blue under this method of observation is more likely to remain blue as the infant ages. In these cases, the only color seen is the red from the hemoglobin of the blood in the capillaries of the iris. Light brown eye color is most common in Europe, West Asia, and the Americas. For years, researchers had searched for it on the OCA2 gene. What Is the Origin of Blue Eyes in Black People? According to the World Atlas, between 75% and 85% of the world's population has dark . International Journal of Ophthalmology. People with green eyes may also experience discoloration, however, this only occurs in eyes which are unhealthy. [34] Many animals such as canines, domestic cats, owls, eagles, pigeons and fish have amber eyes, whereas in humans this color occurs less frequently. What do the numbers on your eyeglass frames mean? Verywell Health's content is for informational and educational purposes only. [13][14] These genes are sought by studying small changes in the genes themselves and in neighboring genes, called single-nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs. Furnace, Boiler or Heat Pump? We all know those people whose eyes look nothing like their parents, but there was some cousin or ancestor in their family that they resemble much to. Blue eye color is determined by melanin, and melanin is actually brown by nature. In those with milder forms of albinism, the color of the iris is typically blue but can vary from blue to brown. Now, lets get back to our main questions, which country has the most blue eyes and which country has the most blondes. It is darkest when we are at our healthiest and naturally fades . Around 17 per cent of people have blue eyes, and when combined with 1-2 per cent having red hair, the odds of having both traits are around 0.17 per cent. Then, somebody had a genetic mutation with two quirks: It gave them blue eyes and prevented their children from having brown eyes. As many as 16 genes influence eye color by determining the amount of melanin in the cells of the iris. Send a Message. The amount of melanin, or pigment, a person has in their iris determines their eye color. Different SNPs within OCA2 are strongly associated with blue and green eyes as well as variations in freckling, mole counts, hair and skin tone. Brown irises contain more or less melanin. 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. Light or medium-pigmented brown eyes can also be commonly found in South Europe, among the Americas, and parts of Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia. Hearing Research. In severe forms of albinism, there is no pigment on the back of the iris, and light from inside the eye can pass through the iris to the front. It shows up in about 9% of Americans but only 2% of the world's population. [84], Aniridia is a congenital condition characterized by an extremely underdeveloped iris, which appears absent on superficial examination.[86]. Have you ever wondered which the top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population are? 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. Of those four, green is the rarest. Longer wavelengths of light tend to be absorbed by the dark underlying epithelium, while shorter wavelengths are reflected and undergo Rayleigh scattering in the turbid medium of the stroma. Melanin in the iris appears to help protect the back of the eye (retina) from damage caused by the UV radiation and high-energy visible blue light that comes from the sun and some artificial sources. One of the very few studies that have been made on this is over 50 years old and is part of an anthropological study from the 1960's. The study concluded that somewhere between 50 and 80 percent . This would be analogous to the change in the color of the sky, from the blue given by the Rayleigh scattering of sunlight by small gas molecules when the sky is clear, to the gray caused by Mie scattering of large water droplets when the sky is cloudy. For the blue eye color, we have gathered general information from Quora, and have also searched for additional information on countries individually. This part surrounds the pupil -- the small black hole in the eye's middle that regulates the light. [3]:9[6] The result is a "Tyndall blue" structural color that varies with external lighting conditions. Grndl M, Knoll S, Eisenmann-Klein M, Prantl L. The blue-eyes stereotype: do eye color, pupil diameter, and scleral color affect attractiveness? Through the analysis of ancient DNA, a 2020 study published in Experimental Dermatology suggested that the common gene for blue eye color likely originated in the Near East and arrived in Europe around 42,000 years ago, after the exodus out of Africa. "Why Edinburgh residents are likely to be blue-eyed", "Genetic determinants of hair, eye and skin pigmentation in Europeans", "Eye Color Percentage for Across the Globe", "Is there any difference in the photobiological properties of melanins isolated from human blue and brown eyes? Green eyes are a result of a combination of several factors including light brown pigmentation in the iris stroma, a blue shade due to the Raleigh scattering of reflected light, and the yellowish pigment lipochrome. Nothing to do with their mythical fiery temperament! Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Damage will cause your Vision to become blurrier and more distorteda condition macular... Prehistoric times it & # x27 ; s population Central Europe major genes associated the... On Earth genes associated with eye color, we have gathered general information from Quora, and the was., they have 90,000 strands, while percentage of blue eyes by country by breathtaking architecture the end what. Color inheritance these cases, the most blondes and blue eyes, hearing after... Choosing the Best Sunglasses to protect your eyes and getting regular check ups important! The dark winters prevalent in Northern Europe is most common in North,! Iris can also affect eye color by determining the amount of melanin in the eye 's Middle that regulates light. 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