Random Coordinates Generator
Drop a pin on a truly random point on the planet. This generator produces evenly-distributed latitude and longitude — corrected so the poles aren't over-picked — and links straight to the spot on a map.
How to use the Random Coordinates Generator
Anywhere on Earth, or bias away from the poles.
Get a random latitude and longitude.
Copy the pair or open it on OpenStreetMap.
Most random points fall in the ocean — that's geography!
The maths of a fair point on a sphere
Generating a random spot on Earth is a classic trap. If you just pick a latitude uniformly between −90° and +90°, you'll cluster points near the poles — because a degree of latitude near the pole covers far less surface than a degree near the equator. The fix is to pick latitude from arcsin(2u − 1), where u is a uniform random number between 0 and 1. That spreads points by equal area, so the Sahara and the Arctic each get their fair share. Longitude is simpler: it's uniform from −180° to +180° because lines of longitude divide the globe evenly. This is the same area-weighted sampling used in cartography and computer graphics.
Fun ways to use random coordinates
An evenly-distributed random point is more useful than it sounds. Geography lessons: generate ten points and have students name the ocean or country each lands in — a vivid way to teach that most of the planet is water. Travel inspiration & "geo-roulette": generate a land point and read about the nearest town. Games: set up your own version of the popular "guess the random Street View location" challenge. Testing & simulation: developers use uniform sphere points to seed maps, spawn game objects or stress-test mapping code. Because roughly 71% of Earth is ocean, expect plenty of blue — switch to "Land-ish" to nudge away from the empty poles, though you'll still often land at sea. For more number fun, see the random number generator.
Frequently asked questions
Are the points evenly spread over the globe?
Yes. Naively picking a random latitude over-samples the poles, because lines of latitude get shorter near them. This tool uses the formula lat = arcsin(2u − 1), which corrects for that so every equal-area patch of Earth is equally likely.
Why do I keep landing in the ocean?
Because oceans cover about 71% of Earth's surface — so a truly random point is far more likely to be at sea than on land. That's a feature of honest randomness, not a bug.
Can I open the coordinates on a map?
Yes — after generating, the "View on map" button opens the exact point on OpenStreetMap in a new tab.
Is this real GPS-grade randomness?
The numbers are uniformly random to five decimal places (about one-metre precision) using the browser's secure random source, which is plenty for games, geography lessons and travel inspiration.