While your DNA stays the same, our science is constantly improving to provide more precise and informative ethnicity estimates. With this update we added more samples to our reference panel, which expands the number and diversity of populations we can compare your DNA to. You may see new regions or changes in your percentages with this update.

AncestryDNA calculates your ethnicity estimate by comparing your DNA to a reference panel made up of DNA samples from more than 71,000 people, representing 88 different populations. Because our reference panel and the way we analyze your DNA both change as we get more data, your ethnicity results can change as we get more data, too. See Ethnicity Estimate support article for a deeper dive into ethnicity estimates.

Ancestry is constantly updating our technology and cutting-edge science. As we update our algorithm and reference panel, your results may change. Additionally, as we add more and more customers to our AncestryDNA database, we hope to increase the number and granularity of our ethnicity regions, making each update more precise.

We calculate your AncestryDNA ethnicity estimate by comparing your DNA to a reference panel made up of thousands of DNA samples from people with long family histories in one place or within one group. Our reference panel is robust due to the millions of family trees linked to our DNA customers. For this update, Ancestry’s team of scientists increased the AncestryDNA reference panel size we use to make ethnicity estimates. The updated reference panel has more samples from more parts of the world to increase the total number of regions available for analysis from 84 to 88.

Because this update is more precise overall, many users will see improvements in their ethnicity estimates as percentages change. Others will see new or updated regions in their estimates. Ancestry will continue to work to expand the diversity of our products to provide more precise ethnicity estimates to our customers.

To estimate your genetic ethnicity, we compare your DNA to the DNA of people with long family histories from specific parts of the world. This group of individuals is called our reference panel. The unique AncestryDNA reference panel is a collection of over 71,000 DNA samples from around the globe that we use to identify 88 different populations. It’s unique because most samples come from our database, and their heritage is verified through Ancestry family trees.

Representing the people of the world fairly is our priority. We go through several steps and work with a diverse network of outside scholars and experts to develop and review how our regions are named. We start with a set of maps that show us where we typically find a particular ethnicity region in the results of people who are native to an area. We also consider who will typically be getting a region in their results to make sure a name is broad or narrow enough to be a good fit. That gives us a starting point. From there we sometimes test various names with users local to an area or ask them for suggestions. Finally, we have a panel of outside subject-matter experts with local and scholarly expertise who review our names for both accuracy and cultural sensitivity.

With this update, we’ve added more samples to the reference panel we use to generate ethnicity estimates. As a result, we’re able to add three new regions to Asia: Western China, Western Philippines, and Maritime Southeast Asia. We’ve also added one new region in Europe: Eastern European Roma.

The new region Western Philippines comes from splitting our previous Southern Philippines region into separate Western Philippines and Central & Southern Philippines regions. Similarly, our new Maritime Southeast Asia region comes from splitting our previous Southeast Asia region into separate Maritime Southeast Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia regions. As our reference panel continues to grow, we are able to refine our ethnicity regions and provide more precise results.

Like many of our other ethnicity regions, the reference panel we use for our Eastern European Roma ethnicity region was built using samples from Ancestry customers. Specifically, these customers’ DNA results and family tree information linked them to the Romani community and this Eastern European region.

Our Eastern European Roma ethnicity region does not represent the shared history of all Romani groups. Instead, it represents Romani people who live or have historically lived in areas of Eastern Europe. At the same time, because the global Romani community does have a common origin, members of the community not from Eastern Europe may still see some assignment to this ethnicity region. Importantly, having this region in your ethnicity results does not prove or disprove whether you belong to this ethnic group. Identifying with or being a member of an ethnic or cultural group involves much more than genetics.

Ethnicity results don’t prove or disprove whether you belong to a particular ethnic group. Identifying with or being a member of an ethnic or cultural group involves much more than genetics or family ties. It can also be a matter of choices, upbringing, family history, tradition, law, and many other factors.

If you are seeing more or less of the Eastern European Roma ethnicity in your results than you expect, this could be for several reasons:

• First, a child only inherits half of each parent’s DNA. That means that, if your Romani ancestor is many generations removed from you, you may inherit less of that ethnicity in your DNA.
• Second, DNA inheritance is random. Each parent passes down half their DNA to you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they pass down half of each of their ethnicities. (Understanding Inheritance)
• Third, DNA results can also be influenced by a population’s history and interaction with neighboring groups. This could mean your percentages for our Eastern European Roma region could be different than you expect, and may appear alongside ethnicities from Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, or the Caucuses.
• Fourth, predicting inheritance is not an exact science. The percentages for regions in your ethnicity estimate are the most likely results we get, but they're not the only results. Other possibilities are nearly as likely. These other possible percentages make up your estimate's range.

Before we added our Eastern European Roma ethnicity region, some people with Romani roots going back to Eastern Europe would get a mix of ethnicity regions that might include Northern India, Anatolia & the Caucasus, Greece & Albania, the Balkans, and other regions in the area between India and Greece.

A mix of ethnicity results across this area is consistent with both early Roma history and the way our ethnicity estimates work. But, while that mixture of ethnicity regions may reflect the population’s complex ancient history, it’s not very useful for understanding a person’s individual family history. The mixture of ethnicity regions makes it more difficult to trace where family members may have lived or moved to.

Our goal at Ancestry is to empower members to make discoveries about their family history; with this update, we aimed to provide greater precision in members’ results by adding our new Eastern European Roma ethnicity region. Adding this new region could make interpreting your own results easier and will allow us to identify lower amounts of this ethnicity in your DNA.

By updating our reference panel with more samples, we were able to split our previous Southeast Asia region, which covered parts of Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and Papua New Guinea. We split this region into separate Mainland Southeast Asia (which covers much of Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia) and Maritime Southeast Asia (which covers Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and Papua New Guinea). These new regions provide more precise results for people from these areas of southeast Asia.

Individuals with roots back to Malaysia may see their results split between our new Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia regions. This is due to the geographic proximity and shared history of the population with both mainland and island populations.

By updating our reference panel with more samples, we were able to split our previous Southeast Asia region, which covered parts of Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and Papua New Guinea. We split this region into separate Mainland Southeast Asia (which covers much of Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia) and Maritime Southeast Asia (which covers Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and Papua New Guinea). These new regions provide more precise results for people from these regions.

By updating our reference panel with more samples, we were able to split our previous Southern Philippines region into separate Western Philippines (which covers western parts of Visayas and Mindanao) and Central & Southern Philippines (which covers central and eastern parts of Visaya, Luzon, and Mindanao). These new regions provide more precise results for people from these areas of the Philippines.

Individuals with roots back to the southern and western Philippines may see their old Southern Philippines results now split between our new Western Philippines and Central & Southern Philippines.

Updates to our reference panel have impacted ethnicity estimates for many people of native Hawaiian descent.

As people move, so does their DNA. To bring you the most precise results in your ethnicity estimate we aim to build a reference panel that includes people whose DNA is typical of DNA from a certain place. To do this, we look for people whose families have lived in the same country or part of a country for generations. These are customers with deep roots to that place, and their long family history in that place is reported in their Ancestry family trees.

Many customers won’t see big changes. As our science and data improve, we’re able to provide more precise and informative ethnicity estimates, but this doesn’t always happen all over the world at once. So while some customers may see new regions or changes in their percentages, others may see smaller changes or no changes at all. We'll keep using advances in science to enhance our customers' experiences, which means that your results could evolve as the resolution of our DNA estimates improve even more.

This updated ethnicity estimate is provided free of charge to AncestryDNA customers.

No, your new ethnicity estimate will appear in your DNA Story whether you are logged in via mobile or desktop. If you would like to view your new results in the Ancestry App, please make sure you have downloaded the most updated version.

You will be able to view and download the prior version of your ethnicity estimate in DNA Story for 90 days after the update.

No, we can update your results without you having to provide a new sample.

When you receive your DNA results, they’ll include the latest ethnicity estimate.

As soon as your new results are ready, we will automatically apply this update. The new results will replace your current ethnicity estimate.

We’ve added thousands of additional samples to the reference panel we use to determine your ethnicity estimate. With this additional data, we can now identify 84 different world populations to compare your DNA to, and we’re also better able to tell neighboring regions apart. With this increased precision you could see changes to the regions your DNA is assigned to, your percentages, or both.

Don’t worry—your DNA hasn’t changed! What’s changed is the amount of data we have available. We’ve added thousands of additional samples to the reference panel we use to determine your ethnicity estimate. This means we can now identify 84 different world populations to compare your DNA against. Our larger reference panel lets us provide results that are even more precise. Analyzing DNA to estimate a person’s ethnicity is at the cutting edge of science—and in a field that is evolving rapidly, we are always keeping an eye on the latest developments and how we can use them to make improvements to your test results.

Increased precision means we’re better able to tell neighboring regions apart. This means that some regions from previous results may not appear in your results anymore.

Your latest ethnicity estimate takes advantage of a larger reference panel, which allows us to estimate your ethnicity with an even higher degree of precision.

We’re confident in the science behind our proprietary algorithm and the precision of these results. The consumer genomics industry is rapidly evolving, and these results are as precise as possible for where the science is today. At the same time, we’ll keep using advances in science to enhance our customers’ experiences, which means that these results can evolve over time as the resolution of DNA estimates improve. A good example of this is our ability to break up large regions into smaller, more specific regions—which means you may see more precise geographies in your ethnicity estimate over time.

Your latest ethnicity estimate takes advantage of a larger reference panel, which allows us to estimate your ethnicity with a higher degree of precision. That said, your DNA is only one element of a much larger picture, and your family history and relatives play an important role in your personal story, even if they are not specifically reflected in your AncestryDNA ethnicity estimate.

While we each inherit 50% of our DNA from our father and 50% from our mother, that also means that there’s 50% of each parent’s DNA we don’t get. If your parent has only a small percentage of DNA for a specific region, you might not inherit any of that portion of their DNA. Additionally, with our updated estimates, regions you previously inherited only small percentages for could now be below the level that we report in your results. Siblings also get 50% of each parent’s DNA, but which DNA segments they get is completely random, which is why your results won’t necessarily match your sib’s–unless you’re identical twins. See Understanding Inheritance support article for a deeper dive on why your DNA results might be different than your parents and your siblings.

The change will not affect your DNA matches.

Ethnicity updates don’t affect communities. Instead of a reference panel, our proprietary Genetic Communities™ technology determines communities by identifying groups of people in our DNA network who have more matches to each other than to people in other parts of the network and searching the linked family trees of people in the community to identify ancestors who were in the same area at the same time.

Yes! To share your ethnicity results with friends and family outside of Ancestry, click the “Share” button on your results page. Then you can share your results via various social media or messaging channels, download an image of your results, or copy a shareable link of your results. Once you share that link, anybody can use it to access a summary of your results.

Yes. With DNA compare, you can compare your ethnicities and communities with anyone who’s taken an AncestryDNA^® test. You can compare with DNA matches and anyone else who’s shared their results with you. To compare with a non-match, ask them to share their results. You need to have matches turned on in order to compare (and so does anyone you’re comparing with).

When you select Compare my DNA, you’ll see two of your closest matches already featured. You can remove them (or add anyone else) anytime. You can compare up to 10 people at the same time.

We assign the most likely percentage for each of your ethnicity regions based on our analysis. These are the percentages that show up in your results. These percentages are our best estimate, but our analysis also provides additional combinations of ethnicities and percentages that could fit your DNA, though they are less likely. We use these other combinations to show you the possible range for your ethnicity regions’ results.

If Ancestry does not have enough data to identify a genetic profile for a specific population or area, your ethnicity estimate will most likely reflect neighboring regions. However, it is important to note two factors. First, some populations do not differ enough at a genetic level to be distinguished as separate regions. Second, countries change over time, and borders on a map today don’t necessarily reflect genetic boundaries, so there may be countries that do not fall into a single ethnicity region.

Yes. Your previous privacy settings will remain the same with this update. Additionally, you can adjust your settings at any time via your DNA Results Summary Page. We also offer a host of resources and tools that help you manage your privacy settings on our website.

Yes, you can find it on our White Papers page.