They are called windows to the soul because of their ability to reveal everything. Discover the rarest eye colors in the world! And it’s not the blue eyes…
1st : Pig
Less than 1% of the world’s population has gray eyes. Different ethnicities and geographical regions influence the variations of this color. We do not yet fully understand how this color appears. Lighting plays a role in the apparent intensity of this color. Sometimes people with gray eyes have a blue-gray or smoky-gray tint to their irises. These eyes are more common in people from northern and eastern Europe.
2e : vert
Green eyes exist in about 2% of the world’s population. They are more common in some European countries such as Iceland and Ireland. The chance of having green eyes decreases in people of other ethnicities. Although rare, it still happens. The green color comes from a lack of melanin in the iris, which allows light to reflect and create the appearance of green.
3rd: Hazelnut
10% of the world’s population has hazel eyes, and experts believe it comes from a mix of orange, green, and gold. Sometimes hazel eyes have a kind of amber color to them, so hazel and amber eyes are often lumped together. People with these eyes are mostly from countries like Brazil. Those with Spanish heritage and those from the Middle East are more likely to inherit this eye color. There are several variations of hazelnut. For example, there’s gray hazelnut, blue hazelnut, brown hazelnut, green hazelnut, golden hazelnut, and even multicolored hazelnut which is just as mesmerizing as it looks!
4e: Bleu
Blue eyes are less common compared to other eye colors; the global population of those with blue eyes is approximately 8-10%. An important genetic factor to remember is that for children to have blue eyes, both parents must have the genes. Countries with the most blue-eyed people include Denmark, Estonia, and Sweden. As with hazel eyes, there is a variation of blue as well. There’s pale blue (also known as sky blue), and the variations continue to hues that are a bit more concentrated like grey-blue or even intense turquoise. Again, ambient light helps with variation, making blue eyes appear darker or lighter.
5th: Brown
Brown eyes are the most common across the world. People with these eyes constitute between 55 and 79% of the population. The higher the melanin levels, the more dark brown eyes are inherited. Lower levels of melanin result in lighter eyes passed down to children. This color is considered a dominant trait, which means that if only one parent has brown eyes, this variation is enough to pass it on. People with brown eyes are predominantly African, Asian, Native American, and have Hispanic heritage.
The color of your eyes depends on the amount of melanin produced in your iris. The more melanin present, the darker the eyes and the less melanin present, the lighter your eyes are naturally. This is the simplest explanation, but there is more to know. Melanin can be broken down into different types. There is eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin is a darker pigment that is more brownish-black. Pheomelanin is a lighter pigment that falls more into the red-yellow category.
People who live near the equator tend to have darker eyes, while those further away have lighter eyes. The same goes for skin color! Genetics play a role in the eye color children develop. Although you can expect two brown-eyed parents to have a brown-eyed child, sometimes the complexity of genetics is surprising, and the child is born with lighter eyes. While melanin plays a role, its disposition also affects eye color. It can be present in varying amounts around the iris, affecting the unique color variation of all people.
Heterochromia: Heterochromia is a condition that results in a person having two different colored eyes. The left eye could be brown while the right eye is blue! The exact cause is not known, but it could be due to piebaldism, a separate condition.
Albino Eyes: Albino eyes can result in unique eye colors that include purple, pink, or red. It is the result of extremely low amounts of melanin and can sometimes be present throughout the body, including hair and skin. Sometimes it only affects the eyes, however.
