How to Make a Color-Coded World Map

A color-coded world map shows groups of countries at a glance: the markets you sell in, the countries you've visited, or the members of an alliance. This tutorial shows you how to make one in Ultimaps Studio, from a blank world map to a finished map with a legend and a pin.

As an example, we'll color the G7 members in blue and the other G20 members in light blue on a dark Equal Earth world map, then mark the 2026 G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. This is the map you'll end up with:

You can download the result as an image or PDF for slides, reports and print, or publish it as an interactive map that you share with a link or embed on your website.

What you'll need

• A browser. Ultimaps Studio runs online, so there's nothing to install.
• The list of countries you want to color, and the group each one belongs to.
• A free account if you want to save the map or publish it. You can start without one.

Two ways to color-code a world map

• Color countries by hand. Click each country to fill it. This works well for up to a few dozen countries.
• Import a spreadsheet. Upload a list of countries with a group or value for each, and Ultimaps colors the map for you. This is faster for long lists and for numbers like population or sales.

We'll start by hand, then show the spreadsheet route.

Step 1: Open a blank world map

Go to studio.ultimaps.com and type "world" in the search field. Pick Map of the World — Countries.

The map has two options. Map of the World — Countries uses the Mercator projection, the one most wall maps use. Countries (Equal Earth) shows every country at its true relative size, so Greenland no longer looks as big as Africa. We'll use Equal Earth. Select it and click Open in Editor.

If you want to color whole continents instead of countries, pick Map of the World — Continents.

Step 2: Pick a theme

The Studio opens with a How do you want to start? panel. Click Color Manually.

Before you color anything, choose the look of your map. Open Map Style in the left rail and click a Theme. We used Dark. Pick the theme first, because changing it later replaces your map's styles.

The same panel also has the Default Region Style, which is the fill and border for every country you don't color, and the Region Labels settings. Getting Started covers every style option.

Step 3: Color the countries

Go back to the Map panel in the left rail and click Paint Tool in the Regions tab. The Fill color appears in the toolbar.

1. Click the color dot next to Fill and pick a color from the Palette, or type a hex code. We used blue (#1F78B4).
2. Click each country you want in the first group: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
3. Pick a second color (we used light blue, #A6CEE3) and click the countries in the next group: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.

Small countries are easier to hit if you zoom in first with the zoom buttons in the toolbar. If you click the wrong country, hold Shift and click it again to clear it.

Step 4: Add a legend

Every color you use shows up in the Legend section of the Regions tab, under Unnamed colors. Type a name next to each color and press Enter. We used "G7 members" and "Other G20 members".

As soon as you name a color, it moves to Legend Items and the legend appears on the map. Click the legend to select it, then drag it wherever you want it. Legend Appearance lets you switch the layout between vertical and horizontal and change the swatch shape.

To change a group's color later, click its color dot under Legend Items and pick a new one. Every country in that group updates at once.

Give your map a name, too. Click the pencil next to the title at the top of the Studio and type a new one, for example "G7 and G20 members".

Step 5: Add pins (optional)

Pins mark specific places on top of the colored countries, like offices, event venues or cities.

1. Open the Pins tab.
2. Type a place name or coordinates into the search field, for example "Évian-les-Bains, France", and click Add.
3. Click the pin on the map to open its toolbar. Use Fill, Stroke and Icon to style it. On a dark map, a light color stands out best. We used light orange (#FDBF6F).
4. Click Add Label in the same toolbar to show the pin's name.

The label uses the place name by default. To change it, find the pin under Manage Pins, expand it, and click the pencil next to Label Text. Type the new text, like "G7 Summit 2026, Évian", and click Save. Drag the label to move it.

Searching for a place uses your monthly geocoding quota: 100 searches on the Free plan. To place a pin without a search, click Drop Pin and click the map.

Color-code from a spreadsheet instead

For long lists, a spreadsheet saves you the clicking. Add a header row with two columns, Country and Group. Then put one country per row, with its group in the second column: "USA" and "G7 members", "Brazil" and "Other G20 members", and so on.

Then:

1. Open a new world map and click Upload File on the How do you want to start? panel. If your map is already open (for example, after picking a theme), click Import Data in the Regions tab.
2. Drop your CSV or Excel file into the upload area, or paste a Google Sheets link.
3. Check the Review Data screen. Country names are matched automatically, including short forms like "USA" and "UK". Rows that were corrected or not found are flagged so you can fix them.
4. Click Apply to Map.

Because the Group column contains text, each group gets its own color and a legend item named after it. Click a color dot under Legend Items to change a group's color, just like with hand-colored maps.

If your column holds numbers instead, such as GDP or population, the map is colored on a gradient from low to high. See Getting Started for how to adjust the colors and value ranges.

You can also describe the map to the AI instead. Click Use AI and type something like "Color the G7 members blue and the other G20 members light blue." You'll get the same review screen before anything is applied, and everything the AI creates stays editable.

Step 6: Download or share your map

To download it, click Export in the top right corner:

• Free download gives you a PNG at screen size with a small "Made with ultimaps.com" watermark.
• Professional is a one-time 24-hour pass for this map (€12.50). It gives you a high-resolution PNG, SVG and PDF, with no watermark and full commercial use. Use this for print.

To share it, click Share and Embed in the top right corner. The canvas switches to a preview of the interactive map. Hover over a country to see its name and group. Then click Publish to get a link and embed code for your website. Publishing needs a free account.

FAQ

How do I color-code a map of the world for free?

Open Ultimaps Studio, pick Map of the World — Countries, and click countries to color them. Name each color to build the legend, then click Export and choose Free download for a PNG. You don't need an account to make and download the map.

Can I make a map of the countries I've visited?

Yes, it's the same workflow. Open Map of the World — Countries, click Color Manually, and click each country you've been to. Then name the color "Visited" under Unnamed colors so it shows in the legend. Add a second color, like "Want to visit", if you want. Download it as a PNG, or publish it and share the link.

Can I color continents instead of countries?

Yes. Pick Map of the World — Continents when you choose your base map. Each continent is then a single region you can click. You can also keep the country map and color every country by its continent from a spreadsheet with a "Continent" column.

Can I print a color-coded world map?

Yes. The free PNG works for a quick print. For posters, reports or classroom handouts, the Professional export gives you a high-resolution PNG and a PDF without the watermark. If you only need an uncolored outline to color in by hand, download one from blank world maps.

Can I add my own data, like sales by country?

Yes. Import a CSV, an Excel file or a Google Sheet with one row per country. Text values, like regions or sales reps, get one color per category. Numbers, like revenue, are colored on a gradient or in ranges.

Can I make the world map interactive?

Yes. Click Share and Embed and then Publish. Viewers can hover over countries to see their name and group, and you can add popups and links in Interactive Settings. Paste the link into Notion, WordPress, Ghost or Substack, or use the embed code on any website.

Is there a quicker way to color in a few countries?

For a quick one-off image, try the free Color a Map tool. Click countries to color them, add a legend, and download a PNG.

Next steps

• Getting Started: every way to color a map, plus styling, export and sharing in more detail.
• How to create a US map with colored states: the same workflow for the 50 US states.
• Map of the World and Map of the World Continents: the base maps used in this tutorial.