Thursday 30 May 2013

How do Europeans look like? Does a typical look exist?

The typical European look

We all know Europeans are very divers when it comes to their looks. How do we recognize a typical European? Of course, we have to look at different countries when we are talking about specific looks. Here, we are going to find the tyical look in the Germanic world.
We are going to explore the typical looks of a german from Germany, a dane from Denmark, a swede from Sweden, a norwegian from Norway, a dutch from the Netherlands and we travel to Iceland for the Icelandic people.

Genetic Mapping in Europe

Below you see a picture of genetic overlap between different European countries. Finland is a lonley island in the European genetic world. Germany is sharing a lot of overlap between different other countries. Sweden only share genetic overlap with northern Germany (DE1). Norway share a lot of overlap with Denmark, The Netherlands, British Isles and northern Germany. The five countries (NO, DK, NL, UK/IE, DE1) all show a great deal of overlap with eachother. Norway and The Netherlands share approximately 40%, Norway and Denmark approximately 50%. 

Genetic mapping: overlap between European countries


What do Germans look like?

Well, the first country is Germany (Deutschland). This country is one of the biggest in Europe and is well known for it's cars and food. Because of it's size, the typical look is hard to describe. Germans from the north are, in general, lighter. The average German has (dark)blond hair and has blue/grey eyes. 

Hair: (dark)blond
Eyes: blue or grey
Height: (average) tall
Most similarities with: depends on region

Thore Schöllermann: German actor


What do Danes look like?

Let's move on to Denmark (Danmark). This country is close to Germany. It is actually a neighbouring country. Denmark is a very small country with only a couple of million inhabitants. Denmark is also a Germanic country and shares a lof of similarities with Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. You will recognize a Dane very soon. He/she will have blond hair and light eyes. Of couse, there are also Danes with darker hair and brown eyes. 

Hair: blond
Eyes: blue
Height: tall
Most similarities with: The Netherlands, Germany & Norway

Felix Smith: Danish tv host

What do Swedes look like?

A person from Sweden (Sverige) is called a Swede. Sweden is quite a large Scandinavian country. The capital city is Stockholm. Allthough Sweden is large, it only has around ten million people living there. The typical Swede is also very blond. Most Swedes do have blue or grey eyes but it's not strange to find a swede with brown eyes. 

Hair: (white)blond
Eyes: blue/grey
Height: (average) tall
Most similarities with: Germany

Felix Kjellberg (Pewdiepie): Swedish YouTuber
Erik Grönwall: Swedish Idols winner

What do Norwegians look like?

Norwegians are from Norway (Norge). This country, also in the north, is close to Sweden. The capital city is Oslo. Norway is famous for it's oil and gas. There is no surprise Norwegians are very blond and light eyed. However, they are in general a bit ''darker'' then Swedes are. 

Hair: blond
Eyes: blue
Height: tall
Most similarities with: The Netherlands, Denmark & Germany

Thomas Liden: Norwegian male model

What do Dutch look like?

Dutch people are from the Netherlands (Nederland). Some people think ''Holland'' is the correct name for the Netherlands. Of course, this is not the official name. The Netherlands is a tiny country, almost the same size as Denmark. The capital city is Amsterdam. A typical Dutch is blond with light eyes. Also (light) green eyes are common.

Hair: (dark) blond
Eyes: blue /green
Height (very) tall
Most similarities with: Norway, UK & Germany

Ferry Doedens: Dutch actor

Johannes Rypma: Dutch X-factor finalist
What do Icelanders look like?

Iceland is a somewhat hidden country with only a very small number of people living there. The capital city is Reykjavik and is the largest city of the country. Iceland was long time ago part of the kingdom of Denmark. Nowadays, things has changed. Icelanders are (dark)blond and tall people.

Hair: (dark) blond
Eyes: blue /green
Height: tall
Most similarities with: Unknown, but arguable: Denmark, British Isles

Aron Pálmarsson: Icelandic handball player

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