How to color a map of India by state

Whether it's election results, rainfall zones, languages, or the states you've travelled to, a colored India map tells the story instantly. MapPalette's India map includes all 28 states and 8 union territories — with Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh shown with their full northern boundaries — and works entirely in your browser for free.

1Color the states

1. Open the India map.
2. Pick a color from the palette, or type any hex code (like #FF9933 ) next to the Custom picker.
3. Click a state to color it — or hold and drag across several states to paint them in one stroke.
4. Hard to find a small state or UT? Type its name in Find a region… and press Enter — it gets colored and the map zooms to it.
5. Made a mistake? Ctrl+Z undoes it. Right-click a state for more options.

2Add meaning

• Type a label for each color in the Legend panel — e.g. "Visited", "Wheat belt", "Above national average".
• Give the map a title; it's rendered on the map itself and included in the downloaded file.
• Have numbers per state? Use 📊 Import data to shade all states automatically from a pasted table.

3Download or share

Export as PNG (any size up to 10,000 px, good for printing) or SVG (editable in Illustrator/Inkscape). The 🔗 Share button copies a link that opens your exact map — colors, legend and all — on anyone's device.

Five India map projects to try

• Travel checklist. Three colors — visited, lived in, on the list — with the tricolor palette above. Share the link with friends so they can make theirs.
• Election results. One color per party, one click per state; or import vote-share numbers per state and let the choropleth shading show margins. The choropleth guide covers importing data.
• Language families. Color states by principal language — Hindi belt, Dravidian south, the Northeast — a classic classroom exercise that takes about five minutes.
• Business territories. Sales regions, distributor coverage, GST zones: color each territory, label the legend with the owner's name, export SVG and drop it into your deck.
• Monsoon and climate zones. Use a Blues sequential ramp for rainfall bands from Rajasthan's arid west to Meghalaya's record-setting east.

About the boundaries

The India map uses the official Indian external boundary: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are shown in full, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Aksai Chin. All 28 states and 8 union territories are present with their post-2019 configuration — Ladakh separate from J&K, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli merged with Daman & Diu. Telangana, the newest state, is of course included.

Frequently asked questions

Can I color districts instead of states?

The India map works at state and union-territory level (36 units). District-level coloring isn't available yet — if you need it, tell us; requests genuinely influence what gets built next.

Is the map free for commercial use?

Yes — maps you export are yours for any use, including commercial, with no watermark or attribution requirement. See the terms of use.

Why does a state stay gray after data import?

Almost always a spelling mismatch. Use current official names — Odisha (not Orissa), Uttarakhand (not Uttaranchal), Puducherry (not Pondicherry). Hover a state on the map to see the exact name it expects.