Basque DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Spain · Southern Europe
Basques are well known in population genetics as a long-established, relatively isolated population, and they speak the only surviving pre-Indo-European language of western Europe. This page uses the Spanish Basque average. In our model, the ancestry is 56.1% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 25.7% steppe and 18.2% Western hunter-gatherer. Ancient DNA shows that Basques are not a direct survival of pre-farming Europe, as was once thought: like other Iberians, they carry steppe-related ancestry that arrived in the Bronze Age. What sets them apart is that they received less of the later gene flow from the eastern Mediterranean and North Africa that reached much of Iberia from Roman times onwards. Fittingly, the closest ancient matches are early medieval people with a Vasconic profile from Castile and Leon and Late Iron Age Cantabri, and the closest modern averages are Basques from Navarre and Gipuzkoa.
- Ancient components in our model: Anatolian Neolithic farmers 56.1%, Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 25.7%, Western hunter-gatherers 18.2%
- Closest modern population in our data: Basque (Navarre North), distance 0.0076
- Closest ancient group in our data: Spain Castile and Leon Early Medieval (Vasconic Profile), distance 0.0144
This page sums up what the DNA of the Basque sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in Spain, listed in the G25 sheet as "Basque_Spanish", and it is one of 335 populations in our atlas. An average describes the group as a whole, not any single person in it.
Ancient make-up of the Basque average
The ancient make-up of the Basque average is led by Anatolian Neolithic farmers (56.1%), followed by Steppe herders (Yamnaya) (25.7%) and Western hunter-gatherers (18.2%). The Anatolian Neolithic farmers component reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC. The Steppe herders (Yamnaya) share (25.7%) reflects the Bronze Age herders of the Pontic-Caspian steppe (Yamnaya and related groups), whose ancestry spread across Europe and into Asia from about 3000 BC.
The fit is loose (fit distance 0.046), which usually means that none of the available reference populations is a close stand-in for part of this ancestry, so read the percentages as rough. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Hesperia – Iberian Ancestry Report
Closest modern populations to Basque
Among the modern populations in the G25 data, the closest to the Basque average is Basque (Navarre North), at a distance of 0.008 (very close). Next come Basque (Spain Gipuzkoa Tolosa) at 0.008 and French Occitan (Nouvelle-Aquitaine Landes Chalosse) at 0.013. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are French Occitan (Nouvelle-Aquitaine Landes Chalosse) (0.013), French (Bearn) (0.014) and French Basque (0.014). By the tenth closest (Catalan) the distance grows to 0.031, a common pattern for a population that shares ancestry with its neighbours while keeping a profile of its own.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basque (Navarre North) | 0.0076 | Very close |
| 2 | Basque (Spain Gipuzkoa Tolosa) | 0.0077 | Very close |
| 3 | French Occitan (Nouvelle-Aquitaine Landes Chalosse) | 0.0130 | Very close |
| 4 | French (Bearn) | 0.0136 | Very close |
| 5 | French Basque | 0.0141 | Very close |
| 6 | Spanish (Aragon North, Aragonese) | 0.0160 | Very close |
| 7 | French (South) | 0.0160 | Very close |
| 8 | Spanish (Pais Vasco) | 0.0168 | Very close |
| 9 | Spanish (Biscay) | 0.0176 | Very close |
| 10 | Catalan | 0.0310 | Close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Basque
If we search ancient DNA for the best match to Basque, Spain Castile and Leon Early Medieval (Vasconic Profile) (Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD) comes first, at 0.014, with Spain Castile and Leon Early-High Medieval (Vasconic Profile) next. That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain Castile and Leon Early Medieval (Vasconic Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0144 |
| 2 | Spain Castile and Leon Early-High Medieval (Vasconic Profile) | Early to High Medieval, c. 500-1300 AD | 0.0179 |
| 3 | Spain Castile and Leon LIA Cantabri | Late Iron Age | 0.0190 |
| 4 | Italy Lazio Roman Republic Palestrina Colombella (Italic Profile) | Roman Republic, c. 500-27 BC | 0.0198 |
| 5 | Spain Baleares Menorca LBA | Late Bronze Age | 0.0199 |
| 6 | Spain Madrid Bell Beaker | Copper to Bronze Age (Bell Beaker) | 0.0202 |
| 7 | Spain Castile and Leon High Medieval (Vasconic Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0219 |
| 8 | Spain Navarre EIA | Early Iron Age | 0.0225 |
| 9 | Italy Sardinia Roman Republic (West Med Profile) | Roman Republic, c. 500-27 BC | 0.0231 |
| 10 | Spain La Rioja BA | Bronze Age | 0.0233 |
Ancient DNA from Spain
Our ancient DNA database holds 1,704 individuals excavated in present-day Spain, dated from about 430,000 BC to 1652 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (262), I2a (90) and E1b (68), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are H (182), U5 (179) and H1 (159). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Basque population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Spain
- Investigating ancient human DNA preservation on cave walls and in rock art (2026)
- The genetic landscape of northeastern Iberian communities from the early to late Iron Age (2026)
- Analysis of medieval burials from Ibiza reveals genetic and pathogenic diversity during the Islamic period (2026)
- Uncovering a Medieval Pogrom: Genetic History of a Jewish Community in Catalonia (Spain) (2026)
- Genetic and historical perspectives on the early medieval inhumations from the Menga dolmen, Antequera (Spain) (2025)
- 'Guess Who?': Forensic genetics and archaeology converge to identify Cristopher Columbus descendants. (2025)
- Further insights into maternal and paternal human histories in southern Iberia (2025)
- The human skull from the siege of La Loma (Santibáñez de la Peña, Palencia, Spain) (2025)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 1,704 from Spain.
Compare yourself with Basque
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Basque average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Basque and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
Keep in mind that a population average is a statistical summary of a limited number of sampled individuals. Real people inside any group vary, some carry more of one ancestry and some less, and no genetic profile decides who is or is not Basque. Use these numbers as a map of deep ancestry, not as a label.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Basque average. Your own DNA has its own story: Hesperia – Iberian Ancestry Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people with roots in the Iberian Peninsula: ancient regional core (Iberian hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers, Bell Beaker steppe arrival, El Argar and Bronze Age Iberia, Celtiberians and Iberians, Phoenician and...
More populations from Southern Europe
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Basque?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Basque average is about 56.1% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 25.7% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 18.2% Western hunter-gatherers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Basque?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Basque (Navarre North)), the closest modern populations to the Basque average are French Occitan (Nouvelle-Aquitaine Landes Chalosse), French (Bearn) and French Basque. The closest ancient matches are Spain Castile and Leon Early Medieval (Vasconic Profile), Spain Castile and Leon Early-High Medieval (Vasconic Profile) and Spain Castile and Leon LIA Cantabri.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Basque?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Basque average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Basque ancestry?
For the Basque average, the regional report to choose is Hesperia – Iberian Ancestry Report, which our fit test rates as an excellent match. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.