Flemish DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Belgium · Western Europe
Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern half of Belgium, home of the great medieval cloth towns of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres. This page uses a Flemish sample from Belgium. In our model, it is 45.5% steppe-related, 43.3% Anatolian Neolithic farmer and 11.2% Western hunter-gatherer, slightly more steppe than the Belgian average (43.4%) but less than the Dutch (48.4%), so the language border does not translate into a sharp genetic one. In fact, the closest modern averages are not Dutch at all: Upper Normandy (distance 0.0151), the Belgian average, Seine-Maritime, other Belgian samples and Bretons from Ille-et-Vilaine, all at moderate distances of about 0.015 to 0.017. Its six closest ancient groups come from Sint-Truiden, a Flemish town in Belgian Limburg, where burials from Merovingian to early modern times sit at about 0.016 to 0.018.
- Ancient components in our model: Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 45.5%, Anatolian Neolithic farmers 43.3%, Western hunter-gatherers 11.2%
- Closest modern population in our data: France (Upper Normandy, N=10), distance 0.0151
- Closest ancient group in our data: Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile), distance 0.0163
Flemish 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 Flemish individuals sampled in Belgium, listed in the G25 sheet as "Flemish_Belgium". Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Flemish average
The ancient make-up of the Flemish average is led by Steppe herders (Yamnaya) (45.5%), followed by Anatolian Neolithic farmers (43.3%) and Western hunter-gatherers (11.2%). 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 (43.3%) 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 Flemish
Genetically, the Flemish average sits nearest to France (Upper Normandy, N=10) at 0.015, Belgian at 0.015 and French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime) at 0.015. On our scale, a distance of 0.015 counts as very close. Even the tenth closest, German (Russia Volga), is only 0.019 away: Flemish belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France (Upper Normandy, N=10) | 0.0151 | Very close |
| 2 | Belgian | 0.0152 | Very close |
| 3 | French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime) | 0.0154 | Very close |
| 4 | Belgian (group B) | 0.0163 | Very close |
| 5 | Breton (Ille-et-Vilaine) | 0.0168 | Very close |
| 6 | Belgian (group A) | 0.0174 | Very close |
| 7 | Breton (Ille-et-Vilaine Rennes) | 0.0175 | Very close |
| 8 | French (Nord) | 0.0175 | Very close |
| 9 | Breton | 0.0184 | Very close |
| 10 | German (Russia Volga) | 0.0192 | 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 Flemish
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Flemish average is Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) (Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD), at 0.016, followed by Belgium Late Medieval-Early Modern Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) and Belgium Early-High Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western 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 Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0163 |
| 2 | Belgium Late Medieval-Early Modern Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Late Medieval to Early Modern, c. 1300-1800 AD | 0.0164 |
| 3 | Belgium Early-High Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Early to High Medieval, c. 500-1300 AD | 0.0167 |
| 4 | Belgium Early-Late Modern Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Modern era, c. 1500-1950 AD | 0.0169 |
| 5 | Belgium Late Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0173 |
| 6 | Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0175 |
| 7 | Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Jutland (Western Euro Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0182 |
| 8 | Sweden Early-High Medieval Viking Age Skara (Western Euro Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0186 |
| 9 | Belgium High-Late Medieval Holy Roman Empire St. Rombout's (Western Euro Profile) | High to Late Medieval, c. 1000-1500 AD | 0.0189 |
| 10 | England High-Late Medieval Cambridgeshire All Saints | High to Late Medieval, c. 1000-1500 AD | 0.0190 |
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 Flemish 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 Flemish
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Flemish average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Flemish 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 Flemish individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Flemish. 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 Flemish 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 Flemish?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Flemish average is about 45.5% Steppe herders (Yamnaya), 43.3% Anatolian Neolithic farmers and 11.2% 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 Flemish?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Flemish average are France (Upper Normandy, N=10), Belgian and French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime). The closest ancient matches are Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile), Belgium Late Medieval-Early Modern Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) and Belgium Early-High Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Flemish?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Flemish 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 Flemish ancestry?
For the Flemish 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.