"Originally, we all had brown eyes" said Eiberg. 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. Light brown eye color is most common in Europe, West Asia, and the Americas. It shows up in about 9% of Americans but only 2% of the world's population. One mutation 10,000 years ago has today resulted in almost 200 million pairs of blue eyes, and people with blue eyes have more blue-eyed children. How eye color develops and why it changes. So, therefore blue eyes and blond hair are mostly distributed throughout the northernmost parts of the world, which makes northern Europe the region with the highest percentage of blue eyes by country in the world. Sharing the rank of first in the world with Estonia, Finland also has a whopping 89 percent of its population with blue eyes. 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. 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. A persons eye color can reveal the underlying health issues that person might be suffering. Eye color depends on how much of a pigment called melanin lives in the iris of the eye. At one time, it was believed that eye color, blue eyes included, was a simple genetic trait. 2000-2023 AAV Media, LLC. 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). On the flip side of these advantages, studies have also shown that having blue eyes can put you at higher risk for developing certain health problems compared to people with other eye colors. [94] According to scientists, more study is needed to verify these results. 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. This is why regular eye exams repay your investment many times over. Hazel/amber is the next rarest of these. The mutation, A111T, is found most commonly in Ireland and all . That's more in line with the hair color's natural occurrence. Blue 8.0%. Green 2.0%. The higher the amount of melanin in the iris and the denser the texture of the melanin, the darker the color of a person's eyes; the same melanin concentration also depends on many factors such as hereditary and environmental ones. Changes (lightening or darkening) of eye color during early childhood, puberty, pregnancy, and sometimes after serious trauma (like heterochromia) suggest that eyes sometimes change color under certain circumstances, due to chemical reactions or hormonal changes within the body. This occurs in humans and certain breeds of domesticated animals and affects less than 1 percent of the world's population. New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. Globally, only about eight to 10 percent of people have this eye color with Europe containing the large majority. 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. 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. Instead, they have less melanin, absorb less light, scatter more light and reflect it along the spectrum of light color. [101], As the perception of color depends on viewing conditions (e.g., the amount and kind of illumination, as well as the hue of the surrounding environment), so does the perception of eye color. What do the numbers on your eyeglass frames mean? 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. Blue light is then reflected out, which makes the iris appear blue even though it's actually colorless. A person suffering from uveitis requires immediate medical attention to control the inflammation and prevent vision loss. With a 75.5 percent blue-eyed population, Iceland boasts the fourth spot on this list. If you have a darker iris color, you are at a greater risk of developing this eye disease. [19] A cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens. As that generation had children and moved around, the blue eye mutation continued to spread across many parts of the globe. Instead, the copper accumulates in the liver and in other tissues, including the iris of the eye. Blond hair percentage: 75. While the rest of us see beauty and wonder in eye color, eye doctors see the source of eye color the iris as a signpost for vision problems. These people make up about 9% of the U.S. population. [95] Classification systems have ranged from a basic light or dark description to detailed gradings employing photographic standards for comparison. The iris is made up of two layers of muscle and other kinds of cells. This genetic switch limits how much melanin is produced in the iris effectively "diluting" brown eyes to a shade of blue. or brown eyes. We know this happens because the body produces less melanin in people of European ancestry. Anisocoria thus refers to an abnormal condition characterized by different pupil sizes. [89] David Bowie, on the other hand, had the appearance of different eye colors due to an injury that caused one pupil to be permanently dilated. The color of our eyes depends on how much melanin is present in the iris. Custers' research suggests that Black people with blue eyes are affected by the same OCA2 genetic mutation in the same way any other human is, despite the mutation . Hereditary deafness is a major concern in white cats, and even more so if one or both irises are blue in color. In the US only 1 out of 6 people have a light (blue) eye colour. . Amber eye color is commonly found in Pakistan and the Balkan region, as well as in Southern France, the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and Hungary, and in fewer numbers in the Middle East, Colombia, and the Southern Cone region. Share with Friends Add To Playlist. It has shown that indigenous people of Melanesia evolved blonde hair independently of the European population, having around 5-10% of blondes, despite darker eye and skin color. WorldAtlas. People with brown eyes have high concentrations of . The color of ones eye is perhaps one of the first things people observe when they see each other. 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. Almost everyone (even people with blue or green eyes) has brown pigment in the back layer of the iris. Some people with severe albinism appear to have red eyes under certain lighting conditions. About half as many Americans have blue eyes as brown eyes. October 2014. Even though the top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population are the European ones, some interesting scientific research have shown that evolution of blondes has probably happened more than once throughout the history of humankind. Two factors affect the color of ones eyes: the pigmentation of the eyes iris and the frequency of light scattering by the murky medium in the iris stroma. Some eyes have a dark ring around the iris, called a limbal ring. Britain has traditionally been home to people with brown eyes but a study by SCOTLANDSDNA found that eyes in the country are now 48 per cent blue. Hazel eyes are most common in the Middle East, North Africa, Brazil, and people of Spanish heritage. Because melanocyte cells continually produce pigment, in theory eye color can be changed. Grndl M, Knoll S, Eisenmann-Klein M, Prantl L. The blue-eyes stereotype: do eye color, pupil diameter, and scleral color affect attractiveness? [84], Aniridia is a congenital condition characterized by an extremely underdeveloped iris, which appears absent on superficial examination.[86]. After green, gray is the second-rarest natural eye color, with 3% of the worlds population having gray eyes. [4][34] Hazel eyes often appear to shift in color from a brown to a green. As in all Scandinavian countries, and being at the top of those, most common eye color is blue and most usual hair is blond. Thats because eye color comes from melanin, the same brown pigment that gives color to our hair and skin. Blue eyes percentage: 50-80. Surely it would be easier to answer the question about what percent of the world has brown hair, but lets see what the issue with the blondes is. On top of that, blue eyes are not truly blue. The highest percentages of fair-haired people can be found around the Baltic Sea (e.g. 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. Are contact lenses a good choice for kids? Brown eyes result from a relatively high concentration of melanin in the stroma of the iris, which causes light of both shorter and longer wavelengths to be absorbed.[27]. The North American brothers are similarly blonde-haired and blue-eyed. Your pupil is the small black opening in the center. Grey 0%. Eye color in non-human animals is regulated differently. Brown eyes have the highest amount of melanin in the iris, and blue eyes have the least. Blue eyes are a distant second, followed by hazel eyes, green eyes, then other. This last category includes amber eyes, gray eyes and even violet eyes. Researchers found that only 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non-blue eyes are born deaf. Just 22 per cent now have brown eyes, while 30 . Home Improvement / story. 2011;27(6):609-613. doi:10.1002/dmrr.1214. Blue eyes are an inherited trait. The brown eye colour is in the US the . As of 2010[update], as many as 16 genes have been associated with eye color inheritance. [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. 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. [47][48] In Scotland, 29% of people have green eyes. In fact, over 80 percent of the inhabitants of Estonia . Find an eyecare professional and book online in minutes! Provincia: bulletin trimestriel de la Socit de Statistique http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D206, "Melanins: Skin Pigments and Much MoreTypes, Structural Models, Biological Functions, and Formation Routes", "The Claim: Eye Color Can Have an Effect on Vision", Quantification and Correction of Iris 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. the admirers of blue eyes and fair hair were disgusted . Cavin Herbert Eye Institute. Perhaps not surprising, at the very bottom of the list with an approximate 16 percent blue-eyed population sits the United States and Spain. So, if melanocytes extract just a little bit of melanin, babys eye color will remain light, but they usually produce much more of this protein, which causes darker eye colors. Hazel eyes: What determines hazel eye color. It may take up to six months for the gene responsible for creating the pigment in the eyes to activate melanin production. This part surrounds the pupil -- the small black hole in the eye's middle that regulates the light. 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