Skip to main content
Eye Color Rarity

The full spectrum

Every eye color, ranked

Six standard colors and one rare variation, from most common to rarest. Each profile covers how common the color is, why it looks the way it does, and which sources support the numbers.

  1. Close-up of a deep brown human eye showing radial iris fibers
    #1

    Brown

    Very common

    The most common eye color on Earth, found in roughly three out of every four people.

    High melanin · high confidence

    ~75%

    est. 70–80% of the world

    Read the profile
  2. Close-up of a light blue human eye with visible radial fibers
    #2

    Blue

    Common

    Roughly 1 in 11 people worldwide, and the majority in parts of northern Europe.

    Very low melanin · moderate confidence

    ~9%

    est. 8–10% of the world

    Read the profile
  3. Close-up of a hazel human eye with a brown ring around the pupil blending into green
    #3

    Hazel

    Uncommon

    A shifting blend of brown, gold and green, in about 1 in 20 people worldwide.

    Moderate melanin · moderate confidence

    ~5%

    est. 4–8% of the world

    Read the profile
  4. Close-up of a golden amber human eye with one even tone across the iris
    #4

    Amber

    Rare

    Solid golden-copper irises. Rare, though nobody has measured how rare.

    Moderate melanin, warm pigment · low confidence

    ~3%

    est. 1–5% of the world

    Read the profile
  5. Close-up of a green human eye with golden flecks around the pupil
    #5

    Green

    Very rare

    The rarest of the four colors most surveys track, at around 1 in 50 people worldwide.

    Low melanin, warm pigment · moderate confidence

    ~2%

    est. 1–4% of the world

    Read the profile
  6. Close-up of a gray human eye with delicate pale iris fibers
    #6

    Gray

    Very rare

    Probably the rarest standard eye color, at about 1 in 100 people or fewer.

    Very low melanin · low confidence

    ~1%

    est. 0.5–3% of the world

    Read the profile
Eye with heterochromia, one half of the iris blue and the other half brown

Beyond the standard six

Heterochromia & rare variations

Two colors in one iris, or two completely different eyes. Direct counts put heterochromia at about 1 in 400 people. Our guide also covers the red and violet look linked to albinism.

Explore rare variations

Not sure which color you have? Compare the profiles, or check a photo with our free test.

Take the eye color test