Humans have approximately 19,000 to 20,000 protein-coding genes. This estimate has been refined over time, starting from early guesses of 50,000 to 100,000 genes in the 1980s, down to about 20,000 in more recent analyses
. In addition to protein-coding genes, humans also have a substantial number of non-coding RNA genes, which do not code for proteins but may have regulatory or other biological functions. Estimates suggest there are roughly 15,000 to 22,000 non-coding genes
. Overall, the human genome contains around 40,000 to 42,000 genes when combining both protein-coding and non-coding genes, but the well-established count of protein-coding genes remains close to 20,000
. Thus, the current consensus is:
- Protein-coding genes: ~19,000 to 20,000
- Non-coding RNA genes: ~15,000 to 22,000
- Total genes (protein-coding + non-coding): ~35,000 to 42,000
This reflects the complexity of the human genome, where the majority of the genome does not code for proteins but plays important regulatory roles
