Map originally found on reddit

The map above shows what the borders of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa might look like if they were based on the dominant Y-DNA haplogroup rather than ethnicity and/or any other political considerations.

Here’s some very basic information about each group:

Haplogroup R1b: “It is the most frequently occurring paternal lineage in Western Europe, as well as some parts of Russia (e.g. the Bashkir minority) and Central Africa (e.g. Chad and Cameroon). It is also present at lower frequencies throughout Eastern Europe, Western Asia, as well as parts of North Africa and Central Asia.”

Haplogroup R1a: “It is distributed in a large region in Eurasia, extending from Scandinavia, Central Europe and southern Siberia to South Asia.”

Haplogroup N: “It has a wide geographic distribution throughout northern Eurasia, and it also has been observed occasionally in other areas, including Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Southwest Asia and Southern Europe.”

Haplogroup I1: “The haplogroup reaches its peak frequencies in Sweden (52 percent of males in Västra Götaland County) and western Finland (more than 50 percent in Satakunta province).[6] In terms of national averages, I-M253 is found in 35–38 per cent of Swedish males, 32.8% of Danish males, about 31.5% of Norwegian males and about 28% of Finnish males.”

Haplogroup I2: “The haplogroup reaches its maximum frequency in the Dinaric Alps in the Balkans, where the men are on record as being the tallest in the world, with a male average height of 185.6 cm (6 ft 1.1 in).”

Haplogroup J1: “This haplogroup is found today in significant frequencies in many areas in or near the Middle East, and parts of the Caucasus, Sudan and Ethiopia. It is also found in high frequencies in parts of North Africa, Southern Europe, and amongst Jewish groups, especially those with Cohen surnames. It can also be found much less commonly, but still occasionally in significant amounts, throughout Europe and as far east as Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.”

Haplogroup J2: “It is found in Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Europe and North Africa, but it is usually associated with Northwest Asia. It is thought that J2 might have originated between the Caucasus Mountains, Mesopotamia and the Levant.”

Haplogroup E: “Most members of haplogroup E-M96 belong to one of its identified subclades, and the E-M96(xE-P147, E-M75) is rare. E1a and E-M75 are found almost exclusively in Africa. By looking at the major subclade frequencies, five broad regions of Africa can be defined: East, Central, North, Southern and West. The division can be distinguished by the prevalence of E-V38 in East, Central, Southern and West Africa, E-M78 in East Africa and E-M81 in North Africa.”

Haplogroup G: “At the level of national populations, G-M201 is most commonly found in Georgia; it is found at even higher levels among many other regional and minority populations in The Caucasus. G-M201 is also widely distributed at low frequencies, among ethnic groups of Europe, South Asia, Central Asia, and North Africa.”

To learn more about DNA and Haplogroups have a look at the following books:

Also if you’d like to get your DNA tested have a look at:

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