Create a custom world map: paint countries with your own colors and legend, or paste a CSV of country values to build a choropleth. Switch between Robinson, Mercator, Equal Earth and Equirectangular, zoom to a continent, add a title and labels, and download a PNG or SVG.
Last updated:
Loading the world map…
Hover or tap a country to see its value.
Pick a color, then click or drag across countries. Labels you type here appear in the legend.
Paint a whole continent
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How to use the World Map Maker
Choose how to color: the Paint tab colors countries by hand; the Data tab colors them from numbers or categories.
Paint or paste: click and drag across countries, or paste rows such as Brazil, 42 or BRA, 42. The map updates as you type and lists any names it did not recognize.
Set up the map on the Map tab: projection, region, detail level and labels.
Style it: title, subtitle, footnote, legend, colors for no-data countries, borders, ocean and background.
Download a PNG for slides and social posts or an SVG to edit in Illustrator, Inkscape or Figma.
Choosing a map projection
Projection
What it keeps
What it distorts
Good for
Robinson (1963)
A balanced overall look
Area, shape and distance slightly, most near the poles
General-purpose world maps, posters, classrooms
Equal Earth (2018)
Relative area of every country
Shapes near the edges
Choropleths and any map that compares sizes
Mercator (1569)
Local shapes and angles (conformal)
Area, strongly: Greenland looks as big as Africa, which is about 14 times larger
Navigation-style and web-style maps, regional zooms
Equirectangular
Equal spacing of latitude and longitude
Shapes and areas away from the equator
Simple reference grids and data overlays
Country codes the map understands
Use whichever identifier your spreadsheet already has. These rows all color the same country:
Type
Example
Notes
English name
United States,4.2
Natural Earth short names like Dem. Rep. Congo also work
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
USA,4.2
Common in World Bank, UN and OECD downloads
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
US,4.2
Used by Google Sheets and many web analytics tools
Rows the map cannot match are listed under the data box so you can fix their spelling. World Bank style names such as Korea, Rep. or Egypt, Arab Rep. are recognized too; put them in quotes in a comma-separated file.
Tips for better world maps
Normalize your numbers (per person, per square kilometer or as a percentage); totals mostly show which countries are large.
Use Equal Earth for choropleths so big high-latitude countries such as Russia and Canada do not look more important than they are.
Quantiles work well for skewed data like GDP or population, where a few countries have very large values.
Zoom to a region when your data covers one continent; small countries in Europe or the Caribbean become readable.
Label “No data” clearly, or rename it in the Style tab when gray means something specific, as in the traffic-side example.
Frequently asked questions
How do I color countries on a world map?
Open the Paint tab, pick a color and click countries on the map, or drag across several. Type a label next to each color, such as Visited or Lived, and it appears in the legend. You can also choose a country from the list or paint a whole continent at once.
What CSV format does the world map maker accept?
One country per line with a value, separated by a comma, tab or semicolon, for example Germany,83.2 or DEU,83.2. Countries can be written as English names, ISO 3166 alpha-2 or alpha-3 codes, or common alternatives such as USA, UK, DRC or Ivory Coast. A header row is optional, and you can choose which column holds the values when your file has several.
Which projection should I use?
Robinson is a good all-round choice for world maps and is used by many atlases. Equal Earth keeps every country at its true relative area, which is best for choropleth maps. Mercator preserves shapes and is familiar from web maps but greatly enlarges areas near the poles, such as Greenland and Russia. Equirectangular is a simple latitude-longitude grid.
Why are some small countries missing or not colored?
The standard map uses Natural Earth's 1:110 million scale, which leaves out very small countries such as Singapore, Malta or most Caribbean and Pacific island nations. Choose High detail on the Map tab to load the 1:50 million map that includes them. Small colored countries also get a dot so they stay visible.
How are disputed borders shown?
Borders come from Natural Earth, which shows de facto boundaries. Some areas such as Western Sahara, Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland appear as separate shapes so you can color them individually or leave them blank.
Can I make a map of just Europe or another region?
Yes. On the Map tab set Show to Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East, North America, South America or Oceania. The map zooms to that region and the export uses the same framing.
Is my data private?
Yes. Your CSV, colors and labels are processed in your browser and never uploaded. Only the public map outline is downloaded from a CDN.
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.