Belgian DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Belgium · Western Europe
Belgium sits where the Romance and Germanic language worlds meet, with Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, French-speaking Wallonia in the south and a small German-speaking community in the east. This page uses the general Belgian average. In our model, it is 44.8% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 43.4% steppe and 11.8% Western hunter-gatherer, an almost even balance of the two main layers, between the French (39.7% steppe) and German (46.6%) averages. What stands out is continuity: the six closest ancient groups all come from the town of Sint-Truiden in Belgium itself, from the High Medieval period (distance 0.0057) through the Merovingian era to early modern times, all at very close distances. The closest modern averages lie just across the border in northern France, from the Nord (0.0058) and Pas-de-Calais, along with other Belgian sample sets, a reminder that the medieval County of Flanders straddled today's frontier.
- Ancient components in our model: Anatolian Neolithic farmers 44.8%, Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 43.4%, Western hunter-gatherers 11.8%
- Closest modern population in our data: French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Nord), distance 0.0058
- Closest ancient group in our data: Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile), distance 0.0057
Belgian is one of the 335 modern populations in our population genetics atlas. The numbers on this page describe the average Global25 (G25) genome of the Belgian individuals sampled in Belgium. Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Belgian average
The ancient make-up of the Belgian average is led by Anatolian Neolithic farmers (44.8%), followed by Steppe herders (Yamnaya) (43.4%) and Western hunter-gatherers (11.8%). 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 (43.4%) 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 acceptable (fit distance 0.035): treat the proportions as a good approximation rather than exact values. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Nordsee – North Sea Germanic Ancestry Report
Closest modern populations to Belgian
Genetically, the Belgian average sits nearest to French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Nord) at 0.006, Belgian (group B) at 0.006 and French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais) at 0.006. On our scale, a distance of 0.006 counts as very close. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Nord) (0.006), French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais) (0.006) and France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais, N=13) (0.008). Even the tenth closest, French, is only 0.015 away: Belgian belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Nord) | 0.0058 | Very close |
| 2 | Belgian (group B) | 0.0059 | Very close |
| 3 | French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais) | 0.0061 | Very close |
| 4 | France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais, N=13) | 0.0083 | Very close |
| 5 | Belgian (group C) | 0.0087 | Very close |
| 6 | Alsatian (Bas-Rhin) | 0.0096 | Very close |
| 7 | Breton (Ille-et-Vilaine) | 0.0121 | Very close |
| 8 | German (Baden-Wurttemberg Ellwangen) | 0.0123 | Very close |
| 9 | Swiss German | 0.0130 | Very close |
| 10 | French | 0.0147 | Very 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 Belgian
If we search ancient DNA for the best match to Belgian, Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) (High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD) comes first, at 0.006, with Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro 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 | Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0057 |
| 2 | Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0059 |
| 3 | Belgium Early-Late Modern Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Modern era, c. 1500-1950 AD | 0.0063 |
| 4 | Belgium Late Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0068 |
| 5 | Belgium Early-High Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Early to High Medieval, c. 500-1300 AD | 0.0071 |
| 6 | Belgium Late Medieval-Early Modern Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Late Medieval to Early Modern, c. 1300-1800 AD | 0.0077 |
| 7 | Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Jutland (Western Euro Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0108 |
| 8 | Italy Piedmont Early Medieval Lombard Period Collegno (Western Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0120 |
| 9 | England High-Late Medieval Cambridgeshire All Saints | High to Late Medieval, c. 1000-1500 AD | 0.0132 |
| 10 | Sweden Early-High Medieval Viking Age Skara (Western Euro Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0133 |
Ancient DNA from Belgium
Our ancient DNA database holds 545 individuals excavated in present-day Belgium, dated from about 125,000 BC to 1821 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (156), I2a (27) and I1a (25), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are H1 (81), U5 (50) and T2 (40). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Belgian population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Belgium
- Genetic diversity of late Neanderthals in northwestern Europe (2026)
- Assembling ancestors: the manipulation of Neolithic and Gallo-Roman skeletal remains at Pommerœul, Belgium (2024)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 545 from Belgium.
Compare yourself with Belgian
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Belgian average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Belgian 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
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the Belgian individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Belgian. Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
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 Belgian average. Your own DNA has its own story: Nordsee – North Sea Germanic 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 of North Sea Germanic ancestry: ancient regional core (native British/Dutch/Danish Iron Age, Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon migration, Viking Age, Frisian Saxon, Anglo-Norman) versus non-regional outside admixture...
More populations from Western Europe
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Belgian?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Belgian average is about 44.8% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 43.4% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 11.8% 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 Belgian?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Belgian (group B)), the closest modern populations to the Belgian average are French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Nord), French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais) and France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais, N=13). The closest ancient matches are Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile), Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) and Belgium Early-Late Modern Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Belgian?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Belgian 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 Belgian ancestry?
Nordsee – North Sea Germanic Ancestry Report is our regional report for this part of the world. On the Belgian average its fit test reads partial, so check your own DNA first: the free Report Finder runs that test on your file.
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.