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Female populations have been larger than male populations throughout the human history, suggests a new research. 

Researchers using a new technique to obtain higher quality paternal genetic information, analyzed the demographic history of males and females in worldwide populations. They compared the paternally-inherited Y chromosome (NRY) with maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA of 623 males from 51 populations. 

Researchers showed that the female populations were larger before the out-of-Africa migration and remained so throughout almost all subsequent migrations. 

"Our new sequencing technique removes previous biases, giving us a richer source of information about our genetic history. It allows us to take a closer look at the regional differences in populations, providing insights into the impact of sex-biased processes on human genetic variation," said Dr. Mark Stoneking, Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute, an author on the paper, in the press release.

Findings of the study also backed previous studies that concluded when comparing human populations on a global scale, there are greater genetic differences in paternal NRY than in mtDNA. However, these differences are not as large as previously thought and the authors were surprised to see substantial variation in relative amounts of NRY vs. mtDNA differentiation at the regional level, the press release added. 

The research has been published in the Investigative Genetics.