"Haplogroup L lineages are relatively infrequent(less than 1%) throughout Europe with the exception of Iberia, where frequencies as high as 11.7% percent have been reported. These lineages had previously been associated with the African slave trade. However an analysis by Gonzalez et al revealed that most of the L lineages matched Northwest African L lineages rather than contemporary Sub-Saharan L lineages. The authors suggest this pattern indicates that most of the Sub-Saharan L lineages entered Iberia in prehistoric times rather than in more recent periods. 

Haplogroup L lineages are present at low frequencies in Eastern Europe. Though a high diversity of African mtDNA lineages have been detected, few lineages have accumulated enough mutations in Europe to form monophyletic clusters. Malyarchuk et al 2005 detected only two monophyletic clusters, L1b and L3b, in Russians with an estimated age no greater than 6,500 years. Malyarchuk et al 2008 identified African L1b, L2a, L3b, L3d and M1 clades in slavic populations at low frequencies. L1b, L3b and L3d had matches with West African populations, indicating that these lineages probably entered Europe through Iberia. One lineage L2a1a, appeared to be much older, indicating that it may have entered Europe in prehistoric times. This clade was possibly related to L2a1 clades identified in 10 individuals of Ashkenazi heritage from France, Germany, Poland, Romania and Russia. L2a lineages are widespread throughout Africa, as a result, the exact origins of this lineage are uncertain. 

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