Geography and Genetics

How closely related are the world's populations? 

The Genetic Distance Map offers a fascinating way to explore that question by putting genetic similarity onto a map. Click on this map and the surrounding areas are then colored according to genetic distance. The result is a visual landscape of genetic similarity, with similar colours indicating populations that are genetically closer to one another.

For most populations, the Genetic Distance Map displays smooth, concentric rings radiating outwards. In many locations, geographic distance mirrors genetic distance (e.g., clicking on central France highlights neighboring regions in Western Europe). As you might suspect populations that live close together are often genetically similar.

However, there are some interesting exceptions to this rule, where the map breaks this geographic pattern because of historical migrations or geographic isolation. One striking example can be seen by clicking on Afrikaner in South Africa, which lights up North-Western Europe (Dutch and German) while remaining genetically distant from the surrounding Indigenous Southern African populations.

There is another interesting example in Africa. North Africa, is genetically distinct from much of sub-Saharan Africa - revealing how the Sahara's has historically acted as a formidable geographic barrier to movement.

The Genetic Distance Map is based on the Moriopoulos Collection 2025, a curated collection containing 6,020 population averages. There are, however, some important caveats to bear in mind. The map can only show what is present in this underlying dataset, which does not provide equally good coverage of every population. The collection itself is not peer-reviewed, and some of the present-day samples come from consumer genetic testing customers who have self-reported their ethnicity

The locations shown on the map should also be treated as approximate. Population labels were geolocated using a language model and a single point may represent a population that is actually dispersed across a large geographic area. This is particularly important for groups such as Ashkenazi Jews, whose genetic identity cannot meaningfully be reduced to a single geographic point.