Spin a Name

Random country wheel

Spin to pick a country from anywhere in the world, or from one continent.

Random country

Or click the wheel, or press Ctrl + Enter (⌘ + Enter on a Mac).

Quick lists:
195 entries

Up to 1,000 entries. Add an entry twice to double its chance.

Colours

The wheel picked

How to use the country wheel

  1. The wheel starts with every country: the 193 member states of the United Nations, plus the two observer states, Palestine and Vatican City.
  2. Want a smaller wheel? Use the quick lists above the entry box to load one continent: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America or Oceania.
  3. Press Spin to pick a country.

With the whole world on the wheel, the names are too small to fit on the slices, but the picked country shows clearly in the pop-up. Choose a continent for a wheel with readable labels.

Ideas for a country wheel

  • World food night: spin a country and cook a dish from there.
  • Geography quiz: spin, then name the capital, find it on a map or draw the flag.
  • Travel dreaming: spin for a place to read about and add to your list.
  • Class projects: give each student or group a country to research.
  • Culture days: pick the country you will learn about this week.
  • Music and sport: find a song or a famous athlete from the country you land on.

A five-minute geography habit

Try a quick routine each time the wheel lands. Find the country on a map, say its capital, and learn one new fact, such as a famous dish, an animal that lives there, or how to say hello in a local language. Five minutes a day adds up to a lot of the world over a school year. Every country you land on is listed in the Results tab, so you can look back at all the places you have explored.

How we group the countries

We sort countries into continents using the regions the United Nations uses for statistics. A few countries sit across two continents, but each one appears in only one list. Russia is in the Europe list, while Turkey, Cyprus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are in the Asia list. North America includes Central America and the Caribbean. If your class uses a different grouping, edit the list to match.

Make it your own wheel

  • Remove countries you have already covered, so the wheel only picks new ones.
  • Add places that are not on the list, such as regions or cities, to suit your project.
  • Save each version from the Saved tab, for example “Countries we have cooked”.

Fair for every country

Every country gets one slice of the same size, whether it is huge or tiny. The pick uses your browser’s secure random numbers, so Vatican City is just as likely as Canada. Hungry after all that travel? The what to eat wheel can plan dinner.

Questions people ask

How many countries are on the wheel?

195: the 193 member states of the United Nations, plus the two observer states, Palestine and Vatican City.

Can I spin countries from just one continent?

Yes. Use the quick lists above the entry box to load Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America or Oceania.

Why can I not read the country names on the wheel?

With all 195 countries, each slice is too thin for a name, so the labels hide. The picked country still shows in large text after each spin. Pick one continent for a wheel with readable names.

Is every country equally likely?

Yes. Each country gets one slice of the same size, whatever its size on the map. The pick comes from your browser’s secure random number generator.

Can I add territories, regions or cities?

Yes. Type anything you like into the entry box, one place per line. The wheel spins exactly what is in the box.

Can I use the country wheel for a class project?

Yes. Spin once for each student or group to give everyone a country to research. Remove each country after it is picked so no two groups get the same one.

More wheels to try

See all ready-made wheels