Olive Skin Countries 2025
Yes
Olive Skin
- Olive skin tone refers to light or moderate brown or tan skin with undertones of green, golden, or yellow. It is a common skin tone of people from the Mediterranean, Latin America, and Western Asia.
- Olive skin tones and undertones are an ethnic quality rather than a geographical one. Individuals with olive skin may live anywhere in the world. The list below highlights countries whose dominant ethnicities are known for olive skin tones.
Europe
Greece, Spain, Italy, Turkey and portions of France have olive skin. However, you may not have thought of Russia as a country that does, but reports indicate a presence of this complexion here.
Ukraine has a fair share of olive-toned people too. Europeans may have paler olive skin than people who live in Asia, Central and South America, or the Middle East but not always.
Africa
Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt often have just as dark of skin color as some people in the Middle East and South or Central America. However, they sometimes may have a coarser texture than someone in India, Pakistan or Mexico.
On the other hand, research does indicate some stereotypes associated with skin types, which can vary occur across all ethnic groups and locations. Not all people from the same geographical location have either a rough or smooth skin texture.
Middle East
You may find people with a variety of skin tone shades in Yemen, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Syria. However, a larger percentage of them have some of the darkest olive tones, or they might have tan or dark brown skin instead of a light or fair complexion.
Central and South America
Most people associate Mexico, Honduras, Paraguay, Colombia, Argentina, Costa Rica with having dark brown or tan skin. However, their complexion may also have olive tones in it.
South and Southwestern Asia
Skin colors in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal typically range from fair or white to dark brown and olive tones. Most people here probably have darker skin though.
Two Olive Skin Types
You will find two primary olive skin types around the world, but you especially notice them in hotter climates near the equator. However, note that olive skin and other dark skin tones can sometimes become paler if a person doesn’t have much sun exposure.
Paler olive skin still tans more easily than light skin does though, and you will still notice its yellow or greenish undertones. It’s still distinguishable from a Caucasian person who has pale white or fair skin with red or pink overtones. A total of six skin tones in all exist, Types III and IV being the two olive shades.
Type III
Type III skin shades usually consist of moderate brown and olive tones. A person of this color sometimes mildly burns before gradually developing a tan. People from Indian and Pakistan often have this experience, but again, it’s not just Middle Eastern or Asian countries that have these skin colors.
Type IV
People with Type IV olive skin usually have both darker brown and green tones than people with Type III skin. This complexion type rarely burns and produces an easy tan. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka residents typically have this type of olive skin. However, you won’t just find people with this level of dark complexion in just these locations.
