Green eyes are the result. The rarest eye color in the world

According to research scientists and statistics, the rarest eye color is green. Its owners make up only 2% of the total population of the planet.

The green hue of the iris is determined by a very small amount of melanin. In its outer layer, there is a yellow or very light brown pigment called lipofuscin. In the stroma, a blue or blue tint is present and diffuses. The combination of diffuse tint and lipofucin pigment gives green eyes.

As a rule, the distribution of this color is uneven. Basically, there are a lot of its shades. IN pure form it is extremely rare. There is an unproven theory that green-eyedness is related to the red hair gene.

Why green eyes are rare

In an attempt to find out why green color eye today is a rarity, you should ask for possible reasons to the Middle Ages, namely to the time when the Holy Inquisition was a very influential institution of power. According to her doctrines, the owners of green eyes were accused of witchcraft, ranked as accomplices dark forces and burned at the stake. This situation, which lasted for several centuries, almost completely replaced the already recessive green iris gene from the phenotype of the inhabitants of Central Europe. And since pigmentation is an inherited trait, the chance of its manifestation has decreased significantly. So green eyes have become an infrequent occurrence.

Over time, the situation has somewhat leveled off, and now green-eyed can be found in the North and Central Europe and sometimes even in its southern part. Most often they can be seen in Germany, Scotland, Iceland and Holland. It is in these countries that the green-eye gene predominates and, interestingly, is seen more frequently in women than in men.

In its pure form, namely the shade of spring grass, green is still a rarity. Basically, its diverse variations are found: gray-green and marsh.

In Asian countries, South America and the Middle East are dominated dark eyes, mostly .

If we talk about the distribution and predominance of individual shades of the iris in Russia, the situation is as follows: 6.37% of the population has dark eyes, 50.17% of the population have eyes of the transitional type, for example, hazel-green, and representatives of light eyes - 43.46%. All shades of green belong to them.

Incredible Facts

brown-eyed people inspire more confidence than blue-eyed scientists have found.

However, as researchers have found Charles University in Prague, it is not the color of the eyes that inspires confidence. When a group of volunteers were shown photographs of the same men whose eye color had been artificially altered in different photographs, they were considered more reliable.

This suggests that trust is not the color of the eyes itself, but the facial features inherent in brown-eyed people.

So, for example, brown-eyed men, as a rule, have a rounder face with a wide chin, a wider mouth with raised corners, big eyes and closer set eyebrows. All these qualities indicate masculinity and therefore inspire confidence.

In contrast, blue-eyed representatives of the stronger sex often have facial features that are perceived as a sign of cunning and volatility. These are, as a rule, small eyes and a narrow mouth with lowered corners.

Brown-eyed women are also considered more reliable than blue-eyed women, but the difference is not as clear as men's.

One of the first features that attract us to a person is his eyes, and especially the color of his eyes. Did you know which eye color is considered the rarest, or why eyes can be red? Here are a few interesting facts about the color of a person's eyes.

1. Brown eyes are the most common eye color.

Brown eye color is the most common eye color in the world, except for the Baltic countries. It is the result of the presence of a large amount of melanin in the iris, due to which a lot of light is absorbed. People with very high concentrations of melanin may look like they have black eyes.

2. Blue eyes are a genetic mutation.

All people with blue eyes have one common ancestor. Scientists have traced the genetic mutation that led to the appearance of blue eyes and found that it appeared 6000 - 10000 years ago. Until that time blue-eyed people did not have.

Most people with blue eyes are in the Baltic countries and the Nordic countries. In Estonia, 99 percent of people have blue eyes.

3. Yellow eye color - wolf eyes

Yellow or amber eyes have a golden, tan or copper tint and are the result of the presence of the pigment lipochrome, which is also found in green eyes. Yellow the eye is also called the "eyes of the wolf", since this rare color eye common among animals such as wolves, domestic cats, owls, eagles, pigeons and fish.

Green is the rarest eye color

Only 1-2% of people in the world have green eyes. Pure green eye color (which should not be confused with marsh color) is a very rare eye color, as it is often eradicated from the family by the dominant brown eye gene. In Iceland and Holland, green eyes are most common in women.

One person can have different color eyes

Heterochromia is a phenomenon in which one person can have a different eye color.. It is caused by an excess or deficiency of melanin and is the result of a genetic mutation, disease, or injury.

With complete heterochromia, a person has two different colors of the iris, for example, one eye is brown, the other is blue. With partial heterochromia, the color of the iris is divided into two parts different color.

Red eye color

Red eyes often found in albinos. Since they have almost no melanin, their iris is transparent but looks red because of the blood vessels.

Eye color changes

Eye color can change over the course of a person's life. African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians are usually born with dark eyes that rarely change. Most Caucasian children are born with light-colored eyes: blue or blue. But over time, as the child develops, the cells of the iris of the eye begin to produce more melanin pigment. Usually, baby's eye color changes by one year, but it can be established later by the 3rd, and less often by 10-12 years.

IN rare cases changes in eye color during life can also indicate certain diseases, such as Horner's syndrome, some forms of glaucoma, and others.

What eye color will the child have?

The formation of eye color is difficult process which is determined genetically. There are many combinations of genes that we get from both parents that determine the eye color you will have. Here is the most simplified scheme that will help you find out the color of the eyes of the unborn child.

According to scientists, only 2% of the world's population has green eyes. This is due to the recessive gene that determines the green color of the iris. True, people say that the Inquisition of medieval Europe made its own adjustments to this statistics.

Women, who are most often green-eyed, were considered libertines, witches and were burned at the stake.

Why are the eyes green

Modern science knows that the color of the human iris depends on two factors - the density of its fibers and the amount of melanin pigment in the layers. More pigment - darker eyes, darker skin. In this case, the back layer of the iris of the eye always remains black, and the color is determined by pigment variations on the outer layers of the shell.

There is little melanin in green eyes, and the color is rarely uniform. On outer layer The pigment lipofuscin is concentrated in the cornea, it has a yellow or light brown color. Blue or cyan are added to this pigment. Scattering, these colors mix and give a generally green color - from marsh to bright emerald.

In the world

Most often, people with such eyes can be found on the northern outskirts of Europe, less often in its center, and even less often in the south. Most green-eyed people in Iceland and the Netherlands, Germany and Scotland.

Many green-eyed and among Western and Eastern Slavs. But in the Middle East, in Asia Minor or in South America, there are almost none of them, and where can they come from if the color of the eyes is genetically determined, and the overwhelming majority of the population is dark-eyed?

The dark color of the eyes is determined by the dominant gene, which means that it always supplants the genes responsible for light shades. Geneticists have calculated that if both parents Blue eyes, then they have one chance in a hundred that the child will be green-eyed. And if one of them has green eyes, and the second has blue eyes, then the probability of such an effect increases to 50%. When dad and mom are owners of green eyes, then their descendants have the opportunity to have the same eyes is 75%.

If one of the parents is blue-eyed, and the second is brown-eyed, then the child's green eyes can only be in 37% of cases. In brown-eyed parents, the chance of a green-eyed baby is reduced to 18%.

In America

Americans conducted a study among their population in the middle of the 20th century and found that green tint 15.4% of white men and women had an eye, mostly Irish Americans and English origin(respectively 17.4% and 16%).

Among African Americans, the percentage of green-eyed was only 0.3, among Hispanics - 3.6. So it can be assumed that the processes of darkening of the iris on the American continent occur even more rapidly.

Russia in the old days

Studies of eye color in Russians at the beginning of the 20th century were carried out by the doctor Ivan Pantyukhov. The rarest eye colors among Russians were recognized as green and black - they were found in 5% of the population. Blue and blue eyes had 20% of the population, another 25% had brown, but most of all, the gray iris of the eye was characteristic of Russians.

The following study was carried out by anthropologist Viktor Bunak in 1965: ethnographers examined 107 settlements, including areas where the Slavic population lived from time immemorial - this central part Russian Plain between the Upper Volga and Oka rivers, territories near Rostov and Suzdal, Moscow region, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver, Novgorod regions, Pskov and its environs, villages on the Northern Dvina, Kama and Vyatka rivers - places of settlement of the Novgorod Slavs , Vyatichi and Krivichi.

The data of 16,828 people were studied, of which 8,745 were men and 8,074 were women. Bunak developed a system for determining the color of the iris, dividing colors into three types: dark (black, dark brown, light brown and yellow), light (gray, gray-blue, cyan and blue) and transitional, to which he attributed shades green, including green, yellow-green and gray-green.

The transitional type was found in 49.66% of men and 50.72% of women, i.e. 50.17% of Russians had green eyes. Light eyes were in 43.46% of the examined, and dark - only in 6.73%.

Most green-eyed people in Russia have always lived in the northern and central regions. And the further east from them, the rarer bright eyes are. This is due to mixed marriages and the fact that in this territory the indigenous population is Mongoloid.

Russia today

Modern scientists continue to examine the population of Russia. In 2013, the Bulletin of the Moscow University published an article comparing data for the Arkhangelsk region for 1955, 1970, 2001 and 2010.

In 1973 and 2001, anthropologists studied 289 Russian different ages, in 2010 - 468 Russians and found that over the past 50 years, the eyes of the inhabitants of the region have darkened. If in 1955 only 1% of the population had dark eyes, then in 1972 the number of such people doubled, in 2001 it was already 5%, and in 2010 - 17%. Accordingly, the number of green-eyed people has changed downwards. Anthropologists attribute this process to the expulsion of prisoners to the north.

If we take into account the influence of modern migration, when huge masses of the population move to Europe from the East and from Africa, then we can assume that the number of representatives of green eyes will eventually be reduced to an absolute minimum.

From school course biology, we know how the eye color of a child is genetically determined, we are aware that brown color dominates over blue and it happens that a person has eyes of different colors. We will tell you about the facts that you did not know. For example, until what age is eye color formed and why does our iris have one color or another?

Fact 1: all people are born with bright eyes

Please note that all newborn babies have eyes grey-blue color. Ophthalmologists explain this very simply - babies have no pigment in the iris. Exceptions are only in the countries of East, Southeast and South Asia. There, in children, the iris is already saturated with pigment.

Fact 2: we acquire the final color of the eyes in adolescence

The color of the iris changes and forms by 3-6 months of a child's life, when melanocytes accumulate in the iris. The final color of the eyes in humans is established by 10-12 years.

Fact 3: Brown eyes- it's blue eyes

Brown is the most common eye color on the planet. But ophthalmologists say that brown eyes are actually blue under brown pigment. This is the result of a genetic mutation. The outer layer of the iris contains a large amount of melanin, resulting in the absorption of both high and low frequency light. Reflected light results in a brown (brown) color.

Exists laser procedure, which allows you to remove the pigment and make the eyes blue. It is impossible to return the previous color after the procedure.

Fact 4: in ancient times everyone was brown-eyed

Researchers have found that 10 thousand years ago, all the inhabitants of the planet had brown eyes. Later, a genetic mutation appeared in the HERC2 gene, in carriers of which the production of melanin in the iris decreased. This first led to the emergence blue color. This fact was established by a group of scientists at the University of Copenhagen led by Associate Professor Hans Eiberg in 2008.

Fact 5: a little about heterochromia

This is what is called the different color of the iris of the right and left eyes or the unequal color of different parts of the iris of one eye. This feature is explained by the fact of excess or deficiency of melanin due to diseases, injuries, genetic mutations. With absolute heterochromia, a person has two different colors of the iris. One eye can be blue, the other brown. The planet is home to 1% of people with such an unusual deviation.

Fact 6: green is the rarest eye color

Green eyes have 1.6% of the people of the planet, it is the rarest, as it is eradicated in the family by the dominant brown genome. Green color is formed like this. In the outer layer of the iris, an unusual light brown or yellow pigment lipofuscin is distributed. Together with the blue or blue color turns green. Pure green eye color is extremely rare: the color of the iris is usually uneven, and this leads to the appearance of numerous shades. Most often, green eyes are found in those whose genotype is dominated by the gene responsible for the red hair color. Swiss and Israeli scientists came to such conclusions. These findings are indirectly supported by the high prevalence of green eyes among red-haired people. The results of the study are published in the section " genetic nature» Portal Nature.com (Nature.Com).

Fact 7: a little about other colors of the iris

Black color the eye is similar to the structure of brown. But the concentration of melanin in the iris is so high that the light falling on it is actually completely absorbed. Black eye color is most common among representatives of the Mongoloid race in East, Southeast and South Asia. In these regions, the iris of newborns is already saturated with melanin.

Blue color the eye is the result of light scattering in the stroma (in the main part of the cornea). The lower the density of the stroma, the more saturated the blue color.

Blue eye, unlike blue, is explained more high density stroma. The higher the fiber density, the lighter color. As we all remember, this beautiful color was partly the reason for the formation of fascist ideology. After all, according to scientists, 75% of the indigenous people of Germany have blue eyes. No country in the world has such a concentration of blue-eyed people.

hazel color is a combination of brown (hazel), blue or light blue. And it can take on different shades depending on the lighting.

Grey colour the eye is similar to blue, while the density of the fibers of the outer layer is higher. If the density is not so high, the eye color will be gray-blue. Gray eye color is most common among residents of the North and of Eastern Europe, V certain regions Northwest Africa, as well as among the inhabitants of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.

Yellow eyes are extremely rare. It is formed due to the content of the pigment lipofuscin (lipochrome) in the vessels of the iris. But in most cases, the fact of this eye color is due to the presence of kidney disease.

Fact 8: Albinos can have both red and purple eyes.

most unusual and interesting color eye, red, commonly found in albinos. Due to the lack of melanin, the albino iris is transparent and appears red due to the blood vessels. In some cases, red, mixing with the blue color of the stroma, gives purple eye. However, such deviations occur in a very small percentage of people.

Prepared using materials: ailas.com.ua, medhome.info, glaza.by, medbooking.com, nature.сom, nfoniac.ru

Eyes are not only a mirror of the soul, but also a kind of decoration. People with green eyes are fraught with magical mystery and mystery, and therefore have always been considered special (once they were even considered sorcerers and witches). Today, green eyes are the rarest in the world. If you are interested in how many people with green eyes live on the planet, the answer is about 2 percent. Why so few? First of all, due to medieval Inquisition, ruthlessly destroying their owners. Women with eyes of a unique emerald color were called witches and were persecuted in every possible way, and in those days such an accusation was good reason to be burned at the stake.

Historians claim that about 90 percent of the women burned at the time were young and without children. Moreover, the then superstitious men did their best to avoid contact with green-eyed ladies, who over the years became less and less. Hence the current rarity of the green color - this is a consequence of the deeds of the inquisitors and medieval superstitions.

Note! The eyes are green in people whose body produces a small amount of melanin (this is the pigment that is responsible for the color and color saturation of the iris).

The rarest eye colors

First, let's get acquainted with what colors of the iris are considered the most rare. Unusual make the appearance of the owner memorable, attract the attention of others.

Name, photo	Short description
	Previously, it was believed that fantastic purple eyes could only be obtained with the help of colored contact lenses, but recently there was information that nature itself gave this color to some residents of Northern Kashmir (not confirmed). In some newborns, the eyes have a lilac/violet tint, but this disappears over time.
	They are the result of a lack of melanin. blood vessels translucent, and therefore the eyes have the color of blood. Such an extraordinary color is extremely rare even in albinos, that is, carriers of the gene. They usually have either brown or blue eyes.
	Often found among Germans, Irish, Turks. Gene carriers are mostly women. As noted earlier, such a rarity is due to the activity of medieval inquisitors.
	It happens in different shades, the rarest of which is yellowish-gold (“wolf eyes”). There may also be a nutty hue. It is this color of eyes that are often endowed with werewolves and vampires.
	Shade of hazel, observed at very in large numbers melanin in the body - in this case, the pigment absorbs almost all the rays of light. That is why the eyes resemble small embers. Usually seen with black eyes the world representatives of the Negroid race.

Video - The rarest eye colors on Earth

Rarity of green eyes

As noted earlier, this rarity is a legacy of the Middle Ages, when the Holy Inquisition was an extremely influential institution. As a result, green eyes were practically ousted from the phenotype of Europeans. And in view of the fact that pigmentation is a hereditary matter, the chance of green eyes has decreased many times over.

On a note! Over time, of course, the situation has improved somewhat, but in a "pure" form, that is, a shade of green grass, the eyes are still very rare. Passing shades predominate - light green, for example, or brown-green.

Also worth mentioning is the uneven distribution of green. There is even a theory according to which green-eyedness is directly related to the red hair gene.

Characteristics of the owners of green eyes

Does eye color affect a person's character?

It is believed that green-eyed people are mostly suspicious and vulnerable. They may look calm, but in reality, inside them is a true hurricane of emotions and feelings. Carriers of green eyes are not accustomed to demonstrating their state of mind to others. However, they good psychologists- always listen, reassure, know how to keep secrets. Among the green-eyed people there are many creative personalities - artists, artists, writers.

Does it affect health?

Deficiency of melanin pigment can lead to different kind eye pathologies and illness. In addition, problems may arise with the digestive or nervous system. Often there are changes hormonal background provoked by insufficient production of melanocytes. Green-eyed people often change their mood, which, as we have already found out, others may not be aware of.

ABOUT personal life people with emerald eyes

Such people ideally feel partners, sometimes even dissolve in them, so to speak. They know how to love and care, they are ready to go through any difficulties and trials for the sake of a strong family, without expecting from a partner similar actions. In a word, this good spouses, family men, as well as loving parents.

Friendship and green-eyed

Carriers of emerald eyes are always ready to help and support, even if you have to sacrifice something for this. They give more than they take, they rejoice for their friends from the bottom of their hearts. However, in friendship they are extremely demanding, they need to be treated the same way they treat others. That is why betrayal for such people is a terrible blow, which they most likely will never forgive. And that means the friendship will end.

How many people have green eyes on the planet?

As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, rare coloration iris occurs in only 2 percent of the world's population. This phenomenon is especially rare among residents of the Middle East, South America, Asia. As for the most "green-eyed" countries, these include Iceland (about 35 percent) and Turkey (up to 20 percent of the total population). In addition, green eyes can be found among residents of Scotland, Germany and other northern European countries.

On a note! Among Russians, emerald eyes are a rarity. Therefore, if you meet a green-eyed passerby somewhere, you can consider this a good omen.

A few words about heterochromia

Special attention deserves a violation of eye color. For those who don't know, heterochromia refers to the phenomenon when a person has eyes of different colors. This is described in more detail in our article on, and therefore we will be brief. According to statistics, this phenomenon is even rarer than "green-eyed" (only 1 percent of the world's population). Note that people with eyes of different colors were also associated with evil, which is easily explained by a banal fear of everything inexplicable.

Important! Scientists are still arguing which eye color is the most rare. Some consider it a green tint, others insist on the existence of carriers purple eyes. Also, color effects are not excluded when varying degrees illumination. In any case, everyone has their own unique color irises. Remember this!

Sometimes it happens that the color of a person's eyes changes as rapidly as the color of a chameleon. The only difference is that chameleons do it intuitively and consciously in order to hide, merge with environment. It is in their nature. And in humans, this is due to other reasons that are hidden in the features of the body. The nature of the appearance of such a phenomenon has not yet been studied.