German DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Germany · Western Europe
Germany sits at the heart of Central Europe, a region where several of the best documented prehistoric migrations met. In our model, the German average is 46.6% steppe (Yamnaya), 40.7% Anatolian Neolithic farmer and 12.7% Western hunter-gatherer. Early farmers of the Linear Pottery culture brought agriculture to the region around 7,500 years ago, and from about 2900 BC the Corded Ware culture brought a large wave of steppe-related ancestry into Central Europe, one of the clearest population changes seen in ancient DNA. The closest modern average is a Bavarian sample from Erlangen in Middle Franconia, followed by Upper Austrians and Volga Germans. The closest ancient matches are early medieval individuals with a Central or Northwest European profile from Avar-period cemeteries in Hungary and Austria, and Viking Age people from Skara in Sweden, which reflects the close kinship of northern and central European groups of that era.
- Ancient components in our model: Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 46.6%, Anatolian Neolithic farmers 40.7%, Western hunter-gatherers 12.7%
- Closest modern population in our data: German (Bavaria Middle Franconia Erlangen), distance 0.0073
- Closest ancient group in our data: Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Euro Profile), distance 0.0153
German 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 German individuals sampled in Germany. Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the German average
The ancient make-up of the German average is led by Steppe herders (Yamnaya) (46.6%), followed by Anatolian Neolithic farmers (40.7%) and Western hunter-gatherers (12.7%). 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 (40.7%) reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC.
The fit is acceptable (fit distance 0.036): 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 German
Genetically, the German average sits nearest to German (Bavaria Middle Franconia Erlangen) at 0.007, Austrian (Upper Austria) at 0.012 and German (Russia Volga) at 0.013. On our scale, a distance of 0.007 counts as very close. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Austrian (Upper Austria) (0.012), French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime) (0.013) and Transylvanian (Saxon) (0.015). Even the tenth closest, Belgian, is only 0.020 away: German belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German (Bavaria Middle Franconia Erlangen) | 0.0073 | Very close |
| 2 | Austrian (Upper Austria) | 0.0121 | Very close |
| 3 | German (Russia Volga) | 0.0131 | Very close |
| 4 | French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime) | 0.0134 | Very close |
| 5 | Transylvanian (Saxon) | 0.0145 | Very close |
| 6 | Belgian (group A) | 0.0165 | Very close |
| 7 | Austrian | 0.0165 | Very close |
| 8 | France (Upper Normandy, N=10) | 0.0167 | Very close |
| 9 | Dutch | 0.0169 | Very close |
| 10 | Belgian | 0.0195 | 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 German
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern German average is Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Euro Profile) (Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD), at 0.015, followed by Sweden Early-High Medieval Viking Age Skara (Western 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 | Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Euro Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0153 |
| 2 | Sweden Early-High Medieval Viking Age Skara (Western Euro Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0154 |
| 3 | Austria Early Medieval Avar Period (Northwest Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0158 |
| 4 | Denmark Viking | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0166 |
| 5 | England Late Modern Cambridgeshire Holy Trinity College | Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD | 0.0171 |
| 6 | Belgium Late Medieval-Early Modern Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Northwest Euro Profile) | Late Medieval to Early Modern, c. 1300-1800 AD | 0.0173 |
| 7 | Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Northwest Euro Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0174 |
| 8 | Belgium Early-Late Modern Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Modern era, c. 1500-1950 AD | 0.0177 |
| 9 | Austria Early Medieval Moedling Lerchengasse (Central Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0178 |
| 10 | England Early-High Medieval Cambridgeshire Cherry Hinton | Early to High Medieval, c. 500-1300 AD | 0.0180 |
Ancient DNA from Germany
Our ancient DNA database holds 2,647 individuals excavated in present-day Germany, dated from about 118,000 BC to 2012 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (283), I2a (193) and R1a (144), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are U5 (253), H1 (192) and T2 (183). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's German population.
Ancient sample data compiled by Nomad on the GenArchivist forum.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups in ancient samples from Germany
| Haplogroup | Ancient individuals | Example samples |
|---|---|---|
| R1b | 283 | XN191 Bla59 I0559 |
| I2a | 193 | HohleFels49 HohleFels10_79 Burkhardtshohle |
| R1a | 144 | RISE434 RISE436 RISE446 |
| G2a | 67 | I2020 I2021 I2026 |
| I1a | 65 | KUC023 HVN010 STRAZ_I_29 |
| E1b | 42 | UNTA89_FK231 STRAZ_I_37 RTW002 |
| I1 | 20 | OST003 KH200218 KH200127 |
| H2d | 15 | XN167 XN205 SMH013 |
Most frequent mtDNA haplogroups in ancient samples from Germany
Ancient DNA studies on Germany
- Reconstructing their genomes confirms the historically attested genealogy of the two medieval emperors Otto I (“the Great”) and Heinrich II (“Saint Henry”) (2026)
- Demography and life histories across the Roman frontier in Germany 400–700 ce (2026)
- Historic Genomes Uncover Demographic Shifts and Kinship Structures in Post-Roman Central Europe (2026)
- Reconstructing their genomes confirms the historically attested genealogy of the two medieval emperors Otto I (the Great) and Heinrich II (Saint Henry) (2026)
- Genetic and Isotopic Analyses of Medieval Skeletons (1150–1349) at St. Peter’s Churchyard, Berlin/Cölln, Germany (2026)
- Genetic and Isotopic Analysis of Medieval Skeletons from St. Peter's Churchyard, Berlin/Cölln, Germany (2025)
- Kinship practices at the early bronze age site of Leubingen in Central Germany (2024)
- Genetic analysis of multiple burials from the medieval churchyard from the St. Peters church of old Cölln/Berlin (2024)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 2,647 from Germany.
Compare yourself with German
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the German average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers German 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 German individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as German. 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.
Thanks: to Nomad (GenArchivist) for the population and ancient sample collection this atlas is built on, and to Davidski (Eurogenes) for Global25.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the German 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 German?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the German average is about 46.6% Steppe herders (Yamnaya), 40.7% Anatolian Neolithic farmers and 12.7% 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 German?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as German (Bavaria Middle Franconia Erlangen)), the closest modern populations to the German average are Austrian (Upper Austria), French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime) and Transylvanian (Saxon). The closest ancient matches are Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Euro Profile), Sweden Early-High Medieval Viking Age Skara (Western Euro Profile) and Austria Early Medieval Avar Period (Northwest Euro Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am German?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled German 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 German ancestry?
For the German 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.