The figure for the UK as a whole is about 10% of people having ginger red hair, which is around 6.7 million people!

This might sound like a lot, but it is less than 4.8% of the estimated global total of 140 million people with red hair, out of a currently estimated World population of over 7.9 billion people.

Ginger redheads across the UK

Ginger hair, also known as red hair or auburn hair, is a unique and striking hair colour that has captivated people’s attention for centuries. In recent years, there has been growing curiosity about the prevalence of ginger hair in different countries, including the United Kingdom. In this blog post, we will explore in more detail the question: What percentage of the UK has ginger hair?

Available data on UK hair colour

To delve this question, we need to look at the available data on hair colour in the UK.

Only 2% of the global population are redheads, yet Scotland, with its population of 5.5 million, has the world’s largest percentage of redheads. Over 13% (roughly 715,000) of all Scottish people have red hair.The figure for Ireland is around 10% (roughly 510,000 people). 4-6% of the English population has red hair, which is around 2,262,000 – 3,393,000 people.

Celtic & Nordic ancestry of ginger red hair

The reason why the UK has such a high proportion of ginger redheads is that people with Celtic or Nordic ancestry are more likely to have red hair than those with other backgrounds. 

UK Biobank data on the prevalence of genes for red hair

A source of data on hair colour in the UK is the UK Biobank, a large-scale study that collected genetic and health information from half a million people. According to a 2018 analysis of the UK Biobank data, around 1-2% of the UK population had the genetic variants associated with having red hair. This suggests that while only a small percentage of people in the UK have visibly ginger red hair, a much larger proportion must carringy the genetic traits that could lead to red hair in their offspring. It is thought that around 40% of people in Scotland carry the red hair gene, even though they will only have red hair themselves if they have two copies of the gene. This is known as genotype and phenotype.

Genotype and Phenotype for ginger red hair

Genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an individual, so in the case of ginger red hair, whether you carry 1 or 2 copies of the mutated MC1R gene responsible for ginger red hair(you inherit one copy from each parent). Phenotype refers to the observable characteristics of an individual, including their physical appearance. In the case of ginger hair, the phenotype is the actual hair colour that a person has.

Which shades of hair are defined as ginger

It’s also worth noting that the percentage of people with ginger hair may vary depending on how we define “ginger.” Some people may consider auburn or strawberry blonde hair to be “ginger,” while others may only count copper red hair as true ginger.

Conclusion 

Whilst it’s difficult to pin down an exact number, it’s clear that the percentage of people with ginger hair is much higher in the UK than in the rest of the World, with estimates ranging from 1-6% of the population. It is also worth noting that many more people carry the genes associated with red hair without necessarily having red hair themselves. Regardless of the exact numbers, there’s no denying that ginger hair is a unique and eye-catching hair colour that has captured people’s attention for centuries.

And don’t forget to check out other articles in our Ginger Red Hair Facts category