Tunisian Jewish DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Tunisia · North Africa
Tunisia's Jewish history reaches back to antiquity: the community of Djerba, with its El Ghriba synagogue, is among the oldest Jewish communities in the world, and Tunis later also received Sephardic families from Livorno, known as the Grana. In our model, the Tunisian Jewish average is 47.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 19.3% Natufian, 14.0% Iranian Neolithic, 8.9% steppe, 5.8% Caucasus hunter-gatherer and 4.8% North African. Compared with Moroccan Jews, it has more Natufian ancestry (19.3% against 13.6%), less steppe (8.9% against 13.8%) and less North African ancestry (4.8% against 7.5%), and it is far from the Tunisian average, which has 20.5% North African and 10.7% West African ancestry. The nearest modern average is the Libyan Jewish community (distance 0.0109), then Algerian and Moroccan Jews. No ancient group is very close: the nearest, the medieval Jews of Erfurt and Roman-era people from Isola Sacra near Rome, are at 0.0349 and 0.0357.
- Largest ancient components in our model: Anatolian Neolithic farmers 47.2%, Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant) 19.3%, Iranian Neolithic farmers 14.0%
- Closest modern population in our data: Libyan Jew, distance 0.0109
- Closest ancient group in our data: Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile), distance 0.0349
Tunisian Jewish 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 Tunisian Jewish individuals sampled in Tunisia, listed in the G25 sheet as "Tunisian_Jew". Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Tunisian Jewish average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Tunisian Jewish average comes out as 47.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 19.3% Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant) and 14.0% Iranian Neolithic farmers. The Anatolian Neolithic farmers component reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC. The Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant) share (19.3%) reflects the early farmers of the Levant and the Natufian foragers who came before them.
Smaller traces of North African hunter-gatherers (Iberomaurusian) (under 5%) also appear. At that level they can reflect real minor ancestry, but also simple model noise, so they should not be over-read. The model fits well (fit distance 0.019), so these proportions are a reasonable summary. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora Report
Closest modern populations to Tunisian Jewish
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Libyan Jew first for Tunisian Jewish, at 0.011, then Algerian Jew and Moroccan Jewish. By the tenth closest (Bulgarian Jew) 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 | Libyan Jew | 0.0109 | Very close |
| 2 | Algerian Jew | 0.0187 | Very close |
| 3 | Moroccan Jewish | 0.0202 | Very close |
| 4 | Sabbatean (Donme) | 0.0284 | Close |
| 5 | Romaniote Jew | 0.0290 | Close |
| 6 | Sephardic Jewish | 0.0293 | Close |
| 7 | Sephardic Jew (Turkey) | 0.0300 | Close |
| 8 | Turkish Jew | 0.0302 | Close |
| 9 | Sephardic Jew (Bulgaria) | 0.0305 | Close |
| 10 | Bulgarian Jew | 0.0312 | 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 Tunisian Jewish
If we search ancient DNA for the best match to Tunisian Jewish, Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile) (Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD) comes first, at 0.035, with Italy Lazio Roman Empire-Late Antiquity Isola Sacra (East Med/Western Jewish Profile) next. That is a close match: much of the modern profile was already present then, while later movements of people added further layers. 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 | Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile) | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0349 |
| 2 | Italy Lazio Roman Empire-Late Antiquity Isola Sacra (East Med/Western Jewish Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0357 |
| 3 | Italy Campania Roman Empire Pompeii (East Med-Anatolian Profile) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0360 |
| 4 | Italy Sicily Late Antiquity Marsala (East Med+North African Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0372 |
| 5 | England High Medieval Tzarfati Jew Norwich | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0374 |
| 6 | Spain Catalonia Late Medieval Sephardic Jew Tarrega | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0380 |
| 7 | Algeria Roman Empire Sitifis (North African-Mixed Profile) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0380 |
| 8 | Croatia Late Antiquity Hvar Radosevic (North African-Mixed Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0391 |
| 9 | Croatia Roman Empire-Late Antiquity Zadar (North African-Mixed Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0396 |
| 10 | Italy Lazio Roman Empire Isola Sacra (East Med Profile) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0410 |
Ancient DNA from Tunisia
Our ancient DNA database holds 79 individuals excavated in present-day Tunisia, dated from about 6,153 BC to 274 BC. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (11), E1b (6) and J2a (4), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are H1 (13), U6 (10) and T2 (8). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Tunisian Jewish population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 79 from Tunisia.
Compare yourself with Tunisian Jewish
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Tunisian Jewish average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Tunisian Jewish 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 Tunisian Jewish individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Tunisian Jewish. 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 Tunisian Jewish average. Your own DNA has its own story: Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora 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 Jewish ancestry: ancient Israelite & Levantine core (Canaanite, Iron Age, Phoenician) plus the host admixture of your diaspora community, on a Jerusalem-centred animated map.
More populations from North Africa
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Tunisian Jewish?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Tunisian Jewish average is about 47.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 19.3% Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant) and 14.0% Iranian Neolithic farmers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Tunisian Jewish?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Tunisian Jewish average are Libyan Jew, Algerian Jew and Moroccan Jewish. The closest ancient matches are Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile), Italy Lazio Roman Empire-Late Antiquity Isola Sacra (East Med/Western Jewish Profile) and Italy Campania Roman Empire Pompeii (East Med-Anatolian Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Tunisian Jewish?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Tunisian Jewish 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 Tunisian Jewish ancestry?
Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora Report is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Tunisian Jewish average closely. 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.