Haplogroup G (Y-DNA) - Geographical Distribution

Geographical Distribution

Knowing the distribution of haplogroup G in general is not as useful as that of the distribution of its subgroups. The subgroups likely spread to new areas of the world in different time periods and to different locations. All available G samples derive from studies or collections that do not meet criteria for random sampling, and conclusions based on them are only rough approximations of what is seen in populations.

In Europe west of the Black Sea Haplogroup G is found at about 5% of the population on average throughout most of the continent. The concentration of G falls below this average in Scandinavia, the westernmost former Soviet republics and Poland, as well as in Iceland and the British Isles. There are seeming pockets of unusual concentrations within Europe. In Wales, a distinctive G2a3b1 type (DYS388=13 and DYS594=11) dominates there and pushes the G percentage of the population higher than in England. In western Austria, in the Tirol (Tyrol) the G percentage can reach 8% or more (Otzi also had it). In the northern and highland areas of the island of Sardinia off western Italy, G percentages reach 11% of the population in one study and reached 21% in the town of Tempio in another study. In the Greek island of Crete, approximately 7% to 11% of males belong to haplogroup G. In north-eastern Croatia, in the town of Osijek, G was found in 14% of the males. The city is on the banks of the river Drava, which notably begins in the Tirol/Tyrol region of the Alps, another haplogroup G focus area in Europe. Farther north, 8% of ethnic Hungarian males and 5.1% of ethnic Bohemian (Czech) males have been found to belong to Haplogroup G.

In Russia, the Ukraine and central Asia, the G percentage is around 1% or less. The northern slope of the Caucasus Mountains represents a major exception where concentrations in the Kabardinian and Ossetian populations are noted. In Digora, North Ossetia the highest known concentration of G in a single town in the world is reached where 74% of the tested men were G. The Madyars of central Kazakhstan, a Kazakh sub-ethnic group, were found to be 87% G1. Haplogroup G is found as far east as northern China in small percentages where G can reach more substantial percentages in minority groups such as the Uyghurs.

In Turkey, the southern Caucasus region and Iran, haplogroup G reaches the highest percentage of a regional population worldwide. Among Turkish males 11% of the population is G. In Iran, Haplogroup G reaches 13 to 15% of the population in various parts of the country. While it is found in percentages higher than 10% among the Bakhtiari, Gilaki and Mazandarani, it is closer to 5% among the Iranian Arabs and in some large cities. Among the samples in the YHRD database from the southern Caucasus countries, 29% of the samples from Abazinia, 31% from Georgia, 18% from Azerbaijan and 11% from Armenia appear to be G samples.

In southern Asia, haplogroup G is found in concentrations of approximately 18% to 20% of Kalash, approximately 16% of Brahui, and approximately 11.5% of sampled Pashtun, but in only about 3% of the general Pakistani population. The many groups in India and Bangla Desh have not been well studied. About 6% of the samples from Sri Lanka and Malaysia were reported as haplogroup G, but none were found in the other coastal lands of the Indian Ocean or Pacific Ocean in Asia.

In the Middle East, haplogroup G accounts for about 3% of the population in almost all areas. Among the Druze mostly residents of Israel 10% were found to be haplogroup G.

In Africa, haplogroup G is rarely found in sub-Saharan Africa or south of the horn of Africa among native populations. In Egypt, studies have provided information that pegs the G percentage there to be between 2% and 9%. Three percent of North African Berbers were found to be haplogroup G. Two percent of Arab Moroccans and 8% of Berber Moroccans were likewise found to be G.

In the Americas, the percentage of haplogroup G corresponds to the numbers of persons from Old World countries who emigrated. It is not found among Native Americans except where intermarriage with non-native persons has occurred.

Around 10% of Jewish males are Haplogroup G.