Protecting your eyes and getting regular check ups is important no matter the color of your irises. In humans, this pigmentation of the iris depends on the melanin concentration in the iris pigment epithelium, it's content within the iris stroma, as well as the cellular density of the stroma. [82], Wilson's disease involves a mutation of the gene coding for the enzyme ATPase 7B, which prevents copper within the liver from entering the Golgi apparatus in cells. Rather than including a blue pigment, they actually just lack the pigment that makes eyes brown. This one person with a genetic mutation had children, and the trait was passed to the next generation. 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. Eyeglass temples: How do you know if they're the right length? Approximately 27% of people in the United States and between 8% and 10% of the world's population have blue eyes. But, indeed, that is not the case of some parts of the british islands, northern, and north-eastern Europe inlcluding the Baltic countries where in fact, the concentration of very light hair and blue eyes is the highest, higher even than in Scandinavia. [26] Its the dominant eye color in people with Native American and African ancestry, as well as those with family trees that trace back to Asia, the Middle East, Central or South America and other nations where brown eye color is the most common. Give Orange. [80][81] However, a study in 2000 suggests that people with dark brown eyes are at increased risk of developing cataracts and therefore should protect their eyes from direct exposure to sunlight. Although most common eye color in Latvia that ranks 7th on our list oftop countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage ofpopulation, is blue and greyish-blue and hair blond, there is also a certain amount of population being grey-eyes and brown haired, whose roots can probably be traced to the ancient Livs, who have later been assimilated. [24], Almost all mammals have brown or darkly-pigmented irises. In areas where there is a lot of sun, more melanin is extracted by melanocytes, and skin, and eyes, together with hair color are darker. There are various causes of Anisocoria: head trauma, brain tumors, migraines, demyelinating diseases, medications with anticholinergic properties, etc. Scientists have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6,000-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye . Persons with albinism have very little or no melanin in the iris. 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! Blue eyes are an inherited trait. October 2014. Your blue eyes arent really blue. Aesth Plast Surg. The highest percentages of fair-haired people can be found around the Baltic Sea (e.g. [37][38][39][40][41][42][43] The combination can sometimes produce a multicolored iris, i.e., an eye that is light brown/amber near the pupil and charcoal or dark green on the outer part of the iris (or vice versa) when observed in sunlight. Most eye color changes have been observed or reported in the Caucasian population with hazel and amber eyes. That little DNA blip was blue eye color, according to researchers at the University of Copenhagen. Although hazel eyes may contain specks of amber or gold, they usually tend to have many other colors, including green, brown and orange. Sitting sixth on this list, Denmark 's population is 60 percent blue-eyed. In fact, Hamilton should be proud to be part of an exclusive club: recent studies found that only one in six Americans now have blue eyes, down from roughly 50 percent at the beginning of the 20th . 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 . - VeryWell Health, Interesting Facts about Eye Color - Heffingtons, The World's Population By Eye Color - World Atlas. More people living in Asian, South American, Spanish, and South Africa are more likely to be amber-eyed. However, they might increase your risk of health problems like type 1 diabetes and eye cancer. As of 2010, researchers believe that as many as 16 different genes influence eye color in humans, and most of these genes play a crucial role in the production, transportation, and storage of melanin pigment. Between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, a baby was born in Europe with a harmless genetic mutation. 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. About half of people living in the U.S. and a higher population in Africa, and Asia are brown-eyed. 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. What Is the Origin of Blue Eyes in Black People? [70] Under magnification, gray eyes exhibit small amounts of yellow and brown color in the iris. [91] However, there is a study that found that dark-eyed people perform better at "reactive-type tasks", which suggests they may have better reaction times. Such albinos have pink eyes, as do albino rabbits, mice, or any other animal with a total lack of melanin. However, the genetics and inheritance of different eye colors in humans are quite complex. 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). 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. If you've got blue eyes, you've got one of the rarest, but most coveted recessive genes in the world. Ireland and Scotland have the next-highest populations of people with blue eyes. There are two main genes on chromosome 15 that determine a person's eye color: OCA2 and HERC2. Click to read the article and view the infographic. While ocular melanomas may happen at any age, the risk goes up as you get older. One thing that truly sets people apart is their eye color. Moreover, a gray iris may indicate uveitis, while those with blue, green, or gray eyes are at an increased risk of uveal melanoma. Top 10 Countries that Have the Most Blondes and Blue Eyes as a Percentage of Population, countries with the most beautiful women in Europe, countries with the most beautiful women in the world, 11 Countries with the Most Beautiful Women in Europe, 20 Countries With The Most Beautiful Women In The World, top 10 countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population, How to Best Use Insider Monkey to Increase Your Returns, 6 Things You Didn't Know About Hedge Funds. [4] The appearance of blue, green, and hazel eyes results from the Tyndall scattering of light in the stroma, a phenomenon similar to Rayleigh scattering which accounts for the blue sky. Ready? 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. 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. And some peoples eyes have different shades in different parts of the iris. An estimated 29% of the population of Edinburgh, Scotland, has green eyes one of the rarest eye colors worldwide. The iris is made up of two layers of muscle and other kinds of cells. In fact, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) claims that everyone on the planet had brown eyes around 10,000 years ago. While researchers can't yet prove eye color indicates a hearing problem, they did find that those with lighter-colored eyes had more significant hearing loss after being exposed to loud noises. Approximately 2% of the world's population has green eyes, making it the rarest eye color. France, the southernmost nation on the list, has the largest number of people with "intermediate" (neither brown nor blue) eye color. Hazel/amber is the next rarest of these. [77], The most important role of melanin in the iris is to protect the eyes from the sun's harmful rays. Melanin is also responsible for the color of our skin, eyes and hair. Report. In theory, blue eyes may have protected a person from acquiring vision disorders caused by these periods. In addition, OCA2 and HERC2 are the two major genes associated with the variation in eye colors. Gray eyes can also be found among the Algerian Shawia people[69] of the Aurs Mountains in Northwest Africa, in the Middle East/West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. In contrast, Europe has the widest variety of eye color, and the largest proportion of people with blue eyes. Amber is the third-rarest natural eye color after green and gray, in 5% of the world's population. Now, lets see what else we have on our list oftop countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage ofpopulation. Close to 8%-10% of people have blue eyes, with the US having a percentage of around 27%. The areas encompass eight genetic variants which, in total, explain 29 percent of the variation in skin color in the groups studied, a surprisingly large amount for such a complex trait that almost certainly involves the combinatory action of many genes. 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. As estimated by the United Nations, the world currently has over 8 billion people, and every one of them is different from one another. 2. Netherlands stands for the tallest country in the world and is also the top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population. This anomaly, which film producers thought would be disturbing to film audiences, was "corrected" by having Van Cleef wear brown contact lenses. We know this happens because the body produces less melanin in people of European ancestry. Blue eyes are more concentrated in certain regions than others. 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. In these cases, the only color seen is the red from the hemoglobin of the blood in the capillaries of the iris. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:18. Brown eyes: Estimates show that 70%-80% of the worlds population have brown eyes. Eye Color 101. 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. WorldAtlas. Green irises, for example, have some yellow and the blue structural color. See More by this Creator. 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. How much lighter are the eyes of Northern Europeans compared to everybody elses? Europe was the epicenter of the blue-eye gene mutation. In the same way, you can get melanoma on your skin, you can also get melanoma in your eye. [84], Aniridia is a congenital condition characterized by an extremely underdeveloped iris, which appears absent on superficial examination.[86]. Grey 0%. 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. Different studies have shown that people with lighter iris color have higher chances of "age-related macular degeneration" than those with darker ones. Amber is the third rarest eye color in the world after green and gray, and approximately 5% of the worlds population have amber eyes. Instead, they have less melanin, absorb less light, scatter more light and reflect it along the spectrum of light color. [71], The eyes of people with severe forms of albinism may appear red under certain lighting conditions owing to the extremely low quantities of melanin,[72] allowing the blood vessels to show through. Keep that 70-79% global estimate for brown eyes in mind when you look at the numbers below from a study in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics.. European Americans with recent Celtic and Germanic ancestry account for 16% of people with green eyes. Germans are only slightly more likely to have blue eyes than intermediate (hazel, green, etc.) The color of ones eye is perhaps one of the first things people observe when they see each other. The North American brothers are similarly blonde-haired and blue-eyed. Scientists assume that this genetic mutation might have happened somewhat between 5,000 and 3,000 ago, under the assumption that it was an evolutionary adaptation connected to competition for mates. SEE RELATED: Is blue the rarest eye color? For centuries, it's been noted that blue eyes are considered more attractive than other eye colors. Blue eyes are the second most common eye color in the world. Eyes only appear to be these colors because of the way light strikes the layers of the iris and reflects back toward the viewer. Hereditary deafness is a major concern in white cats, and even more so if one or both irises are blue in color. These clear lenses block 100% UV both indoors and outside, and automatically darken when they're exposed to outdoor sunlight. For the blue eye color, we have gathered general information from Quora, and have also searched for additional information on countries individually. In contrast, more than 50 percent of the global population is believed to have brown eyes. [citation needed], Those with lighter iris color have been found to have a higher prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) than those with darker iris color;[41] lighter eye color is also associated with an increased risk of ARMD progression. Brown eyes have the highest amount of melanin in the iris, and blue eyes have the least. If you have dark brown hair and brown eyes, you have something in common with most people around the globe. 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. Nevertheless, both figures leave Estonia among the top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population. But also some genetic researches have shown that Danish Vikings were more red-haired than Swedish Vikings for example who were mainly blond. Although the stereotypical constatation is that Swedes are tall, blue-eyed and blond, those assumptions have never actually been confirmed. Gray eyes are common in parts of Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and among the Algerian Shawia people in Northwest Africa. Mujica-Mota MA, Schermbrucker J, Daniel SJ. If this gene activation never happens, a baby's eyes will stay blue. Contact an eye doctor if you need medical attention. 207,208 - (1968), Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:18, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Phenotypes and Genotypes for human eye colors. The amount of damage depends on wavelength and exposure time . [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. If there is enough or too much melanin, the eyes are brown and black. So, take these figures with a pinch of salt. 2011;27(6):609-613. doi:10.1002/dmrr.1214. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com. Hazel eyes are usually a combination of green and brown and often flecks of gold or orange. Here's the breakdown of eye color prevalence in the United States: 45% of people with brown eyes. This genetic switch limits how much melanin is produced in the iris effectively "diluting" brown eyes to a shade of blue. There are many other possible reasons for having two different-colored eyes. ", "Contribution l'anthropologie des Corses: Anthropologie de la tte (suite)", "Evaluation of an iris color classification system", Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, "Subspecies comparison of the Genus: Corucia", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eye_color&oldid=1140743886. It's completely normal to see blue become brown, hazel, or even green as they get a little older. It is important to always wear sunglasses and eyeglasses whenever possible - especially when spending time outdoors or staring at screens for long periods of time. Any advantage in surviving bone-chilling winters must have been welcome in the far-northern latitudes. 10 . [58][59], A Birman kitten with distinctive sapphire blue eyes, The first blue-eyed koala known to be born in captivity[60], The same DNA sequence in the region of the OCA2 gene among blue-eyed people suggests they may have a single common ancestor. This can make the blue eyes look slightly different depending on the type of lighting conditions. Trauma and certain medications, such as some prostaglandin analogues, can also cause increased pigmentation in one eye. Sturm R.A. & Larsson M., Genetics of human iris colour and patterns, Pigment Cell Melanoma Res, 22:544-562, 2009. The AAO states that those with central heterochromia have iris with two differently colored rings, while those with complete heterochromia have one iris with a different color. Some medical conditions affect ones eye color. 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. [25] In humans, brown is by far the most common eye color, with approximately 79% of people in the world having it. Blue light may also damage your retinas. Home Improvement / story. Yellowing of the sclera (the "whites of the eyes") is associated with jaundice,[84] and may be symptomatic of liver diseases such as cirrhosis or hepatitis. The more melanin concentration one has, the darker ones eyes will be. The Greek goddess Athene appears with gray eyes (). The human eye consists of two types of light and color receptors in the retina. MedlinePlus. 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. Redheads can change temperature quicker. Black is not an eye color. [73], Although the deep blue eyes of some people such as Elizabeth Taylor can appear purple or violet at certain times, "true" violet-colored eyes occur only due to albinism. That's 13 million people, out of the 7.6 billion on Earth. [13][14] These genes are sought by studying small changes in the genes themselves and in neighboring genes, called single-nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs. 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. 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 . Blue eye color is determined by melanin, and melanin is actually brown by nature. Have you ever wondered which the top countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population are? Normally, there is a thick layer of melanin on the back of the iris. Blue eyes have small amounts of melanin while brown eyes are rich in melanin. More red-haired than Swedish Vikings for example who were mainly blond and melanin is also responsible for the color ones... Happens because the body produces less melanin, absorb less light, scatter more light and color in... Amounts of melanin in the United States and between 8 % and 10 % people! Of Anisocoria: head trauma, brain tumors, migraines, demyelinating diseases, with! 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Percent blue-eyed % UV both indoors and outside, and the trait was passed to the next generation more in... Anisocoria: head trauma, brain tumors, migraines, demyelinating diseases, medications with properties. Of your irises the genetics and inheritance of different eye colors sun 's harmful.... The rarest eye color - world Atlas advantage in surviving bone-chilling winters must have been observed reported. Considered more attractive than other eye colors that have the highest percentages of fair-haired people can be around. Kinds of cells an estimated 29 % of the global population is believed to blue. Medications with anticholinergic properties, etc. everyone on the type of lighting conditions as you older... Estonia among the top countries that have the most important role of melanin in far-northern. The epicenter of the 7.6 billion on Earth produced in the retina Heffingtons, the American Academy of (! 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If this gene activation never happens, a baby 's eyes will be of your irises melanin in U.S.. One person with a harmless genetic mutation had children, and melanin is responsible. And automatically darken when they see each other, Interesting Facts about eye color, according to at... Seen is the cause of the iris U.S. and a higher population in Africa, and the was. Rich in melanin risk of Health problems like type 1 diabetes and eye cancer the largest proportion people.
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