Dutch DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Netherlands · Western Europe
The Netherlands occupies the delta of the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt, on the southern shore of the North Sea. In our model, the Dutch average is 48.4% steppe-related, 38.1% Anatolian Neolithic farmer and 13.5% Western hunter-gatherer, more steppe than neighbouring Belgians (43.4%) and close to the levels found in Britain. That is no coincidence: ancient DNA shows that the Bell Beaker people who brought steppe-related ancestry to Britain around 2500 BC were closely related to groups of the Lower Rhine, and in the 5th century AD Angles, Saxons and Frisians crossed from the same coasts to England. So the nearest modern averages are mostly British: Welsh (distance 0.0098), English, Scottish and Cornish, along with Normans and Danes. The closest ancient groups are High Medieval people from Sint-Truiden in Belgium (0.0086) and Viking Age Danes from Zealand (0.0088), both very close.
- Ancient components in our model: Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 48.4%, Anatolian Neolithic farmers 38.1%, Western hunter-gatherers 13.5%
- Closest modern population in our data: Welsh, distance 0.0098
- Closest ancient group in our data: Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Northwest Euro Profile), distance 0.0086
This page sums up what the DNA of the Dutch sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in Netherlands, 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 Dutch average
In a model built from deep ancestral reference populations, the largest share of the Dutch average, 48.4%, goes to Steppe herders (Yamnaya), ahead of Anatolian Neolithic farmers (38.1%) and Western hunter-gatherers (13.5%). The Steppe herders (Yamnaya) component 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 Anatolian Neolithic farmers share (38.1%) reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC.
The fit is loose (fit distance 0.041), 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.
Nordsee – North Sea Germanic Ancestry Report
Closest modern populations to Dutch
Among the modern populations in the G25 data, the closest to the Dutch average is Welsh, at a distance of 0.010 (very close). Next come English at 0.010 and French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime) at 0.011. Even the tenth closest, English (Kent), is only 0.013 away: Dutch belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
Interestingly, most of the closest populations that have an atlas page are not from Western Europe itself (0 of 5), a reminder that genetic and political maps do not always line up.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welsh | 0.0098 | Very close |
| 2 | English | 0.0104 | Very close |
| 3 | French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime) | 0.0106 | Very close |
| 4 | Scottish | 0.0108 | Very close |
| 5 | Cornish | 0.0116 | Very close |
| 6 | English (Cornwall) | 0.0124 | Very close |
| 7 | France (Brittany, N=17) | 0.0126 | Very close |
| 8 | Breton (Finistere) | 0.0127 | Very close |
| 9 | Danish | 0.0129 | Very close |
| 10 | English (Kent) | 0.0131 | 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 Dutch
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Dutch average is Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Northwest Euro Profile) (High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD), at 0.009, followed by Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Zealand (Mixed Northern Euro Profile) and Austria Early Medieval Avar Period (Northwest Euro Profile). 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 (Northwest Euro Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0086 |
| 2 | Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Zealand (Mixed Northern Euro Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0088 |
| 3 | Austria Early Medieval Avar Period (Northwest Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0092 |
| 4 | Denmark Viking | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0097 |
| 5 | England High-Late Medieval Cambridgeshire Hospital of St. John | High to Late Medieval, c. 1000-1500 AD | 0.0109 |
| 6 | Germany Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Thuringian Deersheim (Northwest Euro Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0111 |
| 7 | England Late Modern Cambridgeshire Holy Trinity College | Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD | 0.0115 |
| 8 | Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian Koksijde (Northwest Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0118 |
| 9 | Denmark High Medieval-Early Modern Odense | Medieval to Early Modern, c. 500-1800 AD | 0.0119 |
| 10 | Germany High Medieval Rathausmarkt | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0119 |
Ancient DNA from Netherlands
Our ancient DNA database holds 142 individuals excavated in present-day Netherlands, dated from about 8,734 BC to 1650 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (51), I2a (14) and I1a (3), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are U5 (30), T2 (15) and K1 (14). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Dutch population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Netherlands
- The Roman Military Community as a Melting Pot: Biomolecular Evidence from the Lower Rhine Limes (2026)
- Lasting Lower Rhine–Meuse forager ancestry shaped Bell Beaker expansion (2026)
- Long-term hunter-gatherer continuity in the Rhine-Meuse region was disrupted by local formation of expansive Bell Beaker groups (2025)
- Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden (2025)
- The dutch Y-chromosome from the early middle ages to present day (2025)
- Long genetic and social isolation in Neanderthals before their extinction (2024)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 142 from Netherlands.
Compare yourself with Dutch
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Dutch average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Dutch 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 Dutch individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Dutch. 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 Dutch 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 Dutch?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Dutch average is about 48.4% Steppe herders (Yamnaya), 38.1% Anatolian Neolithic farmers and 13.5% 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 Dutch?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Dutch average are Welsh, English and French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime). The closest ancient matches are Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Northwest Euro Profile), Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Zealand (Mixed Northern Euro Profile) and Austria Early Medieval Avar Period (Northwest Euro Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Dutch?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Dutch 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 Dutch ancestry?
For the Dutch average, the regional report to choose is Nordsee – North Sea Germanic 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.