Minimal SNP overlap among multiple panels of ancestry informative markers argues for more international collaboration

•Comparison of 21 existing SNP panels for ancestry.•Existing panels define a largely empty matrix of SNPs and populations.•Only 3% of the nearly 1400 SNPs in the union were included in 3 or more panels.•The SNPs in that 3% could only define 5 biogeographic regions among 73 populations.•Future cooperation is needed to develop a more refined ancestry panel.