Generate random latitude and longitude coordinates anywhere on land, inside a chosen country, within a radius of you or anywhere on Earth. Each spot is shown on a map with the country, the nearest major city and a place name, ready to copy or open in your favorite map app.
Choose a mode: On land, In a country, Near me or Anywhere on Earth.
Set the options: pick a country, or enter a center (Use my location or click the map) and a radius for Near me.
Press Generate random location (or the G key). Choose How many to create several points.
Read the result: coordinates, country or ocean, nearest major city and place name, with the point on the map.
Use it: Copy coordinates, open it in Google Maps or OpenStreetMap, or download all points as CSV or GeoJSON.
Why uniform-by-area sampling matters
A naive generator picks latitude evenly between −90° and 90°. That puts as many points in the thin band between 80° and 90° as in the wide band around the equator, so polar areas get far too many points. This tool uses the standard fix: latitude = arcsin(2u − 1) and longitude = 360v − 180, where u and v are random numbers from 0 to 1. Every square kilometer of the globe then has the same chance of being picked.
Latitude band
Share of Earth's surface
Naive uniform latitude would give
0° to ±30° (tropics and subtropics)
50%
33%
±30° to ±60° (mid-latitudes)
36.6%
33%
±60° to ±90° (polar regions)
13.4%
33%
Reading the coordinates
Latitude runs from −90° (South Pole) to +90° (North Pole). Positive is north of the equator.
Longitude runs from −180° to +180°. Positive is east of the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, London.
Decimal degrees (e.g. 48.85837, 2.29448) are what most apps and GPS devices accept. Paste them straight into a map search box.
Degrees, minutes, seconds (48° 51′ 30.1″ N) are common on paper maps and in aviation; 1° = 60 minutes and 1 minute = 60 seconds.
One degree of latitude is about 111 km (69 miles). One degree of longitude is 111 km at the equator and shrinks to zero at the poles.
Fun ways to use a random location
Geography challenge: generate a point, hide the map and let friends guess the country from the coordinates.
Virtual travel: open the spot in a street-level imagery service and explore what is there.
Local adventure: use Near me with a 10–20 km radius to find a place for a walk or bike ride (always check that the spot is public and safe to visit).
Writing prompt: set your next story wherever the random pin lands.
Testing: export 25 points as GeoJSON or CSV to test mapping or location features in an app.
Frequently asked questions
How are the random coordinates generated?
Longitude is picked uniformly between −180° and 180°, and latitude as arcsin(2u − 1) for a uniform random number u between 0 and 1. This spreads points evenly by area on the globe. Picking latitude uniformly instead would crowd points near the poles, where lines of longitude converge.
How does the tool know a point is on land or in a country?
It loads country outlines from the world-atlas dataset (Natural Earth, 1:50 million scale) and runs a point-in-polygon test. In land and country modes it keeps drawing random points until one falls inside a country shape. Because outlines are simplified, points within a few kilometers of a coastline or border can occasionally be on the wrong side.
How does Near me work?
You give a center, either from your browser's location (with your permission), typed coordinates or a click on the map, and a radius up to 1,000 km or miles. Points are spread evenly by area inside that circle on the sphere. Your location is used only in your browser and is never stored on a server.
What is the nearest city based on?
The tool compares the point with a built-in list of about 300 major cities and remote towns worldwide using the haversine great-circle distance, and shows the distance and compass direction. A more detailed place name, such as a village or region, is looked up from OpenStreetMap's Nominatim service when you are online.
What fraction of random points land in the ocean?
About 71% of Earth's surface is water, so in Anywhere on Earth mode roughly 7 out of 10 points fall in an ocean or sea. That is why the On land mode exists; it also leaves out Antarctica unless you tick Include Antarctica.
How precise are the coordinates?
Choose 4, 5 or 6 decimal places. At the equator, 4 decimals is about 11 meters, 5 decimals about 1.1 meters and 6 decimals about 11 centimeters. The point itself is random, so extra decimals only matter if you need an exact spot.
What can I use random locations for?
Popular uses include geography games, travel and road-trip inspiration, writing and art prompts, testing apps that use maps or GPS, picking a spot to explore in Street View, and classroom activities about latitude, longitude and climate.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.