Dynamically Populate Select Options in React JS could be a real time-saver.
When working with software applications built with libraries like React, there are times when you need to dynamically populate a select dropdown with data from an API.
This can be done easily in React JS. One advantage of this method is its reusablity. The same data from the API can be used several times without the need to manually enter them.
In this example, we shall be dynamically populating our select options with a list of countries.
Let’s begin.
First, let’s make things look clean. let’s create a file named countries.js.
This file will hold our array of countries
export const countries = [
{
"name": "Afghanistan",
"dial_code": "+93",
"code": "AF"
},
{
"name": "Aland Islands",
"dial_code": "+358",
"code": "AX"
},
{
"name": "Albania",
"dial_code": "+355",
"code": "AL"
},
{
"name": "Algeria",
"dial_code": "+213",
"code": "DZ"
},
{
"name": "AmericanSamoa",
"dial_code": "+1684",
"code": "AS"
},
{
"name": "Andorra",
"dial_code": "+376",
"code": "AD"
},
{
"name": "Angola",
"dial_code": "+244",
"code": "AO"
},
{
"name": "Anguilla",
"dial_code": "+1264",
"code": "AI"
},
{
"name": "Antarctica",
"dial_code": "+672",
"code": "AQ"
},
{
"name": "Antigua and Barbuda",
"dial_code": "+1268",
"code": "AG"
},
{
"name": "Argentina",
"dial_code": "+54",
"code": "AR"
},
{
"name": "Armenia",
"dial_code": "+374",
"code": "AM"
},
{
"name": "Aruba",
"dial_code": "+297",
"code": "AW"
},
{
"name": "Australia",
"dial_code": "+61",
"code": "AU"
},
{
"name": "Austria",
"dial_code": "+43",
"code": "AT"
},
{
"name": "Azerbaijan",
"dial_code": "+994",
"code": "AZ"
},
{
"name": "Bahamas",
"dial_code": "+1242",
"code": "BS"
},
{
"name": "Bahrain",
"dial_code": "+973",
"code": "BH"
},
{
"name": "Bangladesh",
"dial_code": "+880",
"code": "BD"
},
{
"name": "Barbados",
"dial_code": "+1246",
"code": "BB"
},
{
"name": "Belarus",
"dial_code": "+375",
"code": "BY"
},
{
"name": "Belgium",
"dial_code": "+32",
"code": "BE"
},
{
"name": "Belize",
"dial_code": "+501",
"code": "BZ"
},
{
"name": "Benin",
"dial_code": "+229",
"code": "BJ"
},
{
"name": "Bermuda",
"dial_code": "+1441",
"code": "BM"
},
{
"name": "Bhutan",
"dial_code": "+975",
"code": "BT"
},
{
"name": "Bolivia, Plurinational State of",
"dial_code": "+591",
"code": "BO"
},
{
"name": "Bosnia and Herzegovina",
"dial_code": "+387",
"code": "BA"
},
{
"name": "Botswana",
"dial_code": "+267",
"code": "BW"
},
{
"name": "Brazil",
"dial_code": "+55",
"code": "BR"
},
{
"name": "British Indian Ocean Territory",
"dial_code": "+246",
"code": "IO"
},
{
"name": "Brunei Darussalam",
"dial_code": "+673",
"code": "BN"
},
{
"name": "Bulgaria",
"dial_code": "+359",
"code": "BG"
},
{
"name": "Burkina Faso",
"dial_code": "+226",
"code": "BF"
},
{
"name": "Burundi",
"dial_code": "+257",
"code": "BI"
},
{
"name": "Cambodia",
"dial_code": "+855",
"code": "KH"
},
{
"name": "Cameroon",
"dial_code": "+237",
"code": "CM"
},
{
"name": "Canada",
"dial_code": "+1",
"code": "CA"
},
{
"name": "Cape Verde",
"dial_code": "+238",
"code": "CV"
},
{
"name": "Cayman Islands",
"dial_code": "+ 345",
"code": "KY"
},
{
"name": "Central African Republic",
"dial_code": "+236",
"code": "CF"
},
{
"name": "Chad",
"dial_code": "+235",
"code": "TD"
},
{
"name": "Chile",
"dial_code": "+56",
"code": "CL"
},
{
"name": "China",
"dial_code": "+86",
"code": "CN"
},
{
"name": "Christmas Island",
"dial_code": "+61",
"code": "CX"
},
{
"name": "Cocos (Keeling) Islands",
"dial_code": "+61",
"code": "CC"
},
{
"name": "Colombia",
"dial_code": "+57",
"code": "CO"
},
{
"name": "Comoros",
"dial_code": "+269",
"code": "KM"
},
{
"name": "Congo",
"dial_code": "+242",
"code": "CG"
},
{
"name": "Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo",
"dial_code": "+243",
"code": "CD"
},
{
"name": "Cook Islands",
"dial_code": "+682",
"code": "CK"
},
{
"name": "Costa Rica",
"dial_code": "+506",
"code": "CR"
},
{
"name": "Cote d'Ivoire",
"dial_code": "+225",
"code": "CI"
},
{
"name": "Croatia",
"dial_code": "+385",
"code": "HR"
},
{
"name": "Cuba",
"dial_code": "+53",
"code": "CU"
},
{
"name": "Cyprus",
"dial_code": "+357",
"code": "CY"
},
{
"name": "Czech Republic",
"dial_code": "+420",
"code": "CZ"
},
{
"name": "Denmark",
"dial_code": "+45",
"code": "DK"
},
{
"name": "Djibouti",
"dial_code": "+253",
"code": "DJ"
},
{
"name": "Dominica",
"dial_code": "+1767",
"code": "DM"
},
{
"name": "Dominican Republic",
"dial_code": "+1849",
"code": "DO"
},
{
"name": "Ecuador",
"dial_code": "+593",
"code": "EC"
},
{
"name": "Egypt",
"dial_code": "+20",
"code": "EG"
},
{
"name": "El Salvador",
"dial_code": "+503",
"code": "SV"
},
{
"name": "Equatorial Guinea",
"dial_code": "+240",
"code": "GQ"
},
{
"name": "Eritrea",
"dial_code": "+291",
"code": "ER"
},
{
"name": "Estonia",
"dial_code": "+372",
"code": "EE"
},
{
"name": "Ethiopia",
"dial_code": "+251",
"code": "ET"
},
{
"name": "Falkland Islands (Malvinas)",
"dial_code": "+500",
"code": "FK"
},
{
"name": "Faroe Islands",
"dial_code": "+298",
"code": "FO"
},
{
"name": "Fiji",
"dial_code": "+679",
"code": "FJ"
},
{
"name": "Finland",
"dial_code": "+358",
"code": "FI"
},
{
"name": "France",
"dial_code": "+33",
"code": "FR"
},
{
"name": "French Guiana",
"dial_code": "+594",
"code": "GF"
},
{
"name": "French Polynesia",
"dial_code": "+689",
"code": "PF"
},
{
"name": "Gabon",
"dial_code": "+241",
"code": "GA"
},
{
"name": "Gambia",
"dial_code": "+220",
"code": "GM"
},
{
"name": "Georgia",
"dial_code": "+995",
"code": "GE"
},
{
"name": "Germany",
"dial_code": "+49",
"code": "DE"
},
{
"name": "Ghana",
"dial_code": "+233",
"code": "GH"
},
{
"name": "Gibraltar",
"dial_code": "+350",
"code": "GI"
},
{
"name": "Greece",
"dial_code": "+30",
"code": "GR"
},
{
"name": "Greenland",
"dial_code": "+299",
"code": "GL"
},
{
"name": "Grenada",
"dial_code": "+1473",
"code": "GD"
},
{
"name": "Guadeloupe",
"dial_code": "+590",
"code": "GP"
},
{
"name": "Guam",
"dial_code": "+1671",
"code": "GU"
},
{
"name": "Guatemala",
"dial_code": "+502",
"code": "GT"
},
{
"name": "Guernsey",
"dial_code": "+44",
"code": "GG"
},
{
"name": "Guinea",
"dial_code": "+224",
"code": "GN"
},
{
"name": "Guinea-Bissau",
"dial_code": "+245",
"code": "GW"
},
{
"name": "Guyana",
"dial_code": "+595",
"code": "GY"
},
{
"name": "Haiti",
"dial_code": "+509",
"code": "HT"
},
{
"name": "Holy See (Vatican City State)",
"dial_code": "+379",
"code": "VA"
},
{
"name": "Honduras",
"dial_code": "+504",
"code": "HN"
},
{
"name": "Hong Kong",
"dial_code": "+852",
"code": "HK"
},
{
"name": "Hungary",
"dial_code": "+36",
"code": "HU"
},
{
"name": "Iceland",
"dial_code": "+354",
"code": "IS"
},
{
"name": "India",
"dial_code": "+91",
"code": "IN"
},
{
"name": "Indonesia",
"dial_code": "+62",
"code": "ID"
},
{
"name": "Iran, Islamic Republic of Persian Gulf",
"dial_code": "+98",
"code": "IR"
},
{
"name": "Iraq",
"dial_code": "+964",
"code": "IQ"
},
{
"name": "Ireland",
"dial_code": "+353",
"code": "IE"
},
{
"name": "Isle of Man",
"dial_code": "+44",
"code": "IM"
},
{
"name": "Israel",
"dial_code": "+972",
"code": "IL"
},
{
"name": "Italy",
"dial_code": "+39",
"code": "IT"
},
{
"name": "Jamaica",
"dial_code": "+1876",
"code": "JM"
},
{
"name": "Japan",
"dial_code": "+81",
"code": "JP"
},
{
"name": "Jersey",
"dial_code": "+44",
"code": "JE"
},
{
"name": "Jordan",
"dial_code": "+962",
"code": "JO"
},
{
"name": "Kazakhstan",
"dial_code": "+77",
"code": "KZ"
},
{
"name": "Kenya",
"dial_code": "+254",
"code": "KE"
},
{
"name": "Kiribati",
"dial_code": "+686",
"code": "KI"
},
{
"name": "Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea",
"dial_code": "+850",
"code": "KP"
},
{
"name": "Korea, Republic of South Korea",
"dial_code": "+82",
"code": "KR"
},
{
"name": "Kuwait",
"dial_code": "+965",
"code": "KW"
},
{
"name": "Kyrgyzstan",
"dial_code": "+996",
"code": "KG"
},
{
"name": "Laos",
"dial_code": "+856",
"code": "LA"
},
{
"name": "Latvia",
"dial_code": "+371",
"code": "LV"
},
{
"name": "Lebanon",
"dial_code": "+961",
"code": "LB"
},
{
"name": "Lesotho",
"dial_code": "+266",
"code": "LS"
},
{
"name": "Liberia",
"dial_code": "+231",
"code": "LR"
},
{
"name": "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya",
"dial_code": "+218",
"code": "LY"
},
{
"name": "Liechtenstein",
"dial_code": "+423",
"code": "LI"
},
{
"name": "Lithuania",
"dial_code": "+370",
"code": "LT"
},
{
"name": "Luxembourg",
"dial_code": "+352",
"code": "LU"
},
{
"name": "Macao",
"dial_code": "+853",
"code": "MO"
},
{
"name": "Macedonia",
"dial_code": "+389",
"code": "MK"
},
{
"name": "Madagascar",
"dial_code": "+261",
"code": "MG"
},
{
"name": "Malawi",
"dial_code": "+265",
"code": "MW"
},
{
"name": "Malaysia",
"dial_code": "+60",
"code": "MY"
},
{
"name": "Maldives",
"dial_code": "+960",
"code": "MV"
},
{
"name": "Mali",
"dial_code": "+223",
"code": "ML"
},
{
"name": "Malta",
"dial_code": "+356",
"code": "MT"
},
{
"name": "Marshall Islands",
"dial_code": "+692",
"code": "MH"
},
{
"name": "Martinique",
"dial_code": "+596",
"code": "MQ"
},
{
"name": "Mauritania",
"dial_code": "+222",
"code": "MR"
},
{
"name": "Mauritius",
"dial_code": "+230",
"code": "MU"
},
{
"name": "Mayotte",
"dial_code": "+262",
"code": "YT"
},
{
"name": "Mexico",
"dial_code": "+52",
"code": "MX"
},
{
"name": "Micronesia, Federated States of Micronesia",
"dial_code": "+691",
"code": "FM"
},
{
"name": "Moldova",
"dial_code": "+373",
"code": "MD"
},
{
"name": "Monaco",
"dial_code": "+377",
"code": "MC"
},
{
"name": "Mongolia",
"dial_code": "+976",
"code": "MN"
},
{
"name": "Montenegro",
"dial_code": "+382",
"code": "ME"
},
{
"name": "Montserrat",
"dial_code": "+1664",
"code": "MS"
},
{
"name": "Morocco",
"dial_code": "+212",
"code": "MA"
},
{
"name": "Mozambique",
"dial_code": "+258",
"code": "MZ"
},
{
"name": "Myanmar",
"dial_code": "+95",
"code": "MM"
},
{
"name": "Namibia",
"dial_code": "+264",
"code": "NA"
},
{
"name": "Nauru",
"dial_code": "+674",
"code": "NR"
},
{
"name": "Nepal",
"dial_code": "+977",
"code": "NP"
},
{
"name": "Netherlands",
"dial_code": "+31",
"code": "NL"
},
{
"name": "Netherlands Antilles",
"dial_code": "+599",
"code": "AN"
},
{
"name": "New Caledonia",
"dial_code": "+687",
"code": "NC"
},
{
"name": "New Zealand",
"dial_code": "+64",
"code": "NZ"
},
{
"name": "Nicaragua",
"dial_code": "+505",
"code": "NI"
},
{
"name": "Niger",
"dial_code": "+227",
"code": "NE"
},
{
"name": "Nigeria",
"dial_code": "+234",
"code": "NG"
},
{
"name": "Niue",
"dial_code": "+683",
"code": "NU"
},
{
"name": "Norfolk Island",
"dial_code": "+672",
"code": "NF"
},
{
"name": "Northern Mariana Islands",
"dial_code": "+1670",
"code": "MP"
},
{
"name": "Norway",
"dial_code": "+47",
"code": "NO"
},
{
"name": "Oman",
"dial_code": "+968",
"code": "OM"
},
{
"name": "Pakistan",
"dial_code": "+92",
"code": "PK"
},
{
"name": "Palau",
"dial_code": "+680",
"code": "PW"
},
{
"name": "Palestinian Territory, Occupied",
"dial_code": "+970",
"code": "PS"
},
{
"name": "Panama",
"dial_code": "+507",
"code": "PA"
},
{
"name": "Papua New Guinea",
"dial_code": "+675",
"code": "PG"
},
{
"name": "Paraguay",
"dial_code": "+595",
"code": "PY"
},
{
"name": "Peru",
"dial_code": "+51",
"code": "PE"
},
{
"name": "Philippines",
"dial_code": "+63",
"code": "PH"
},
{
"name": "Pitcairn",
"dial_code": "+872",
"code": "PN"
},
{
"name": "Poland",
"dial_code": "+48",
"code": "PL"
},
{
"name": "Portugal",
"dial_code": "+351",
"code": "PT"
},
{
"name": "Puerto Rico",
"dial_code": "+1939",
"code": "PR"
},
{
"name": "Qatar",
"dial_code": "+974",
"code": "QA"
},
{
"name": "Romania",
"dial_code": "+40",
"code": "RO"
},
{
"name": "Russia",
"dial_code": "+7",
"code": "RU"
},
{
"name": "Rwanda",
"dial_code": "+250",
"code": "RW"
},
{
"name": "Reunion",
"dial_code": "+262",
"code": "RE"
},
{
"name": "Saint Barthelemy",
"dial_code": "+590",
"code": "BL"
},
{
"name": "Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha",
"dial_code": "+290",
"code": "SH"
},
{
"name": "Saint Kitts and Nevis",
"dial_code": "+1869",
"code": "KN"
},
{
"name": "Saint Lucia",
"dial_code": "+1758",
"code": "LC"
},
{
"name": "Saint Martin",
"dial_code": "+590",
"code": "MF"
},
{
"name": "Saint Pierre and Miquelon",
"dial_code": "+508",
"code": "PM"
},
{
"name": "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines",
"dial_code": "+1784",
"code": "VC"
},
{
"name": "Samoa",
"dial_code": "+685",
"code": "WS"
},
{
"name": "San Marino",
"dial_code": "+378",
"code": "SM"
},
{
"name": "Sao Tome and Principe",
"dial_code": "+239",
"code": "ST"
},
{
"name": "Saudi Arabia",
"dial_code": "+966",
"code": "SA"
},
{
"name": "Senegal",
"dial_code": "+221",
"code": "SN"
},
{
"name": "Serbia",
"dial_code": "+381",
"code": "RS"
},
{
"name": "Seychelles",
"dial_code": "+248",
"code": "SC"
},
{
"name": "Sierra Leone",
"dial_code": "+232",
"code": "SL"
},
{
"name": "Singapore",
"dial_code": "+65",
"code": "SG"
},
{
"name": "Slovakia",
"dial_code": "+421",
"code": "SK"
},
{
"name": "Slovenia",
"dial_code": "+386",
"code": "SI"
},
{
"name": "Solomon Islands",
"dial_code": "+677",
"code": "SB"
},
{
"name": "Somalia",
"dial_code": "+252",
"code": "SO"
},
{
"name": "South Africa",
"dial_code": "+27",
"code": "ZA"
},
{
"name": "South Sudan",
"dial_code": "+211",
"code": "SS"
},
{
"name": "South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands",
"dial_code": "+500",
"code": "GS"
},
{
"name": "Spain",
"dial_code": "+34",
"code": "ES"
},
{
"name": "Sri Lanka",
"dial_code": "+94",
"code": "LK"
},
{
"name": "Sudan",
"dial_code": "+249",
"code": "SD"
},
{
"name": "Suriname",
"dial_code": "+597",
"code": "SR"
},
{
"name": "Svalbard and Jan Mayen",
"dial_code": "+47",
"code": "SJ"
},
{
"name": "Swaziland",
"dial_code": "+268",
"code": "SZ"
},
{
"name": "Sweden",
"dial_code": "+46",
"code": "SE"
},
{
"name": "Switzerland",
"dial_code": "+41",
"code": "CH"
},
{
"name": "Syrian Arab Republic",
"dial_code": "+963",
"code": "SY"
},
{
"name": "Taiwan",
"dial_code": "+886",
"code": "TW"
},
{
"name": "Tajikistan",
"dial_code": "+992",
"code": "TJ"
},
{
"name": "Tanzania, United Republic of Tanzania",
"dial_code": "+255",
"code": "TZ"
},
{
"name": "Thailand",
"dial_code": "+66",
"code": "TH"
},
{
"name": "Timor-Leste",
"dial_code": "+670",
"code": "TL"
},
{
"name": "Togo",
"dial_code": "+228",
"code": "TG"
},
{
"name": "Tokelau",
"dial_code": "+690",
"code": "TK"
},
{
"name": "Tonga",
"dial_code": "+676",
"code": "TO"
},
{
"name": "Trinidad and Tobago",
"dial_code": "+1868",
"code": "TT"
},
{
"name": "Tunisia",
"dial_code": "+216",
"code": "TN"
},
{
"name": "Turkey",
"dial_code": "+90",
"code": "TR"
},
{
"name": "Turkmenistan",
"dial_code": "+993",
"code": "TM"
},
{
"name": "Turks and Caicos Islands",
"dial_code": "+1649",
"code": "TC"
},
{
"name": "Tuvalu",
"dial_code": "+688",
"code": "TV"
},
{
"name": "Uganda",
"dial_code": "+256",
"code": "UG"
},
{
"name": "Ukraine",
"dial_code": "+380",
"code": "UA"
},
{
"name": "United Arab Emirates",
"dial_code": "+971",
"code": "AE"
},
{
"name": "United Kingdom",
"dial_code": "+44",
"code": "GB"
},
{
"name": "United States",
"dial_code": "+1",
"code": "US"
},
{
"name": "Uruguay",
"dial_code": "+598",
"code": "UY"
},
{
"name": "Uzbekistan",
"dial_code": "+998",
"code": "UZ"
},
{
"name": "Vanuatu",
"dial_code": "+678",
"code": "VU"
},
{
"name": "Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela",
"dial_code": "+58",
"code": "VE"
},
{
"name": "Vietnam",
"dial_code": "+84",
"code": "VN"
},
{
"name": "Virgin Islands, British",
"dial_code": "+1284",
"code": "VG"
},
{
"name": "Virgin Islands, U.S.",
"dial_code": "+1340",
"code": "VI"
},
{
"name": "Wallis and Futuna",
"dial_code": "+681",
"code": "WF"
},
{
"name": "Yemen",
"dial_code": "+967",
"code": "YE"
},
{
"name": "Zambia",
"dial_code": "+260",
"code": "ZM"
},
{
"name": "Zimbabwe",
"dial_code": "+263",
"code": "ZW"
}
]Here, we have an array of objects of all our countries
Next, we call this in our App.js ( or whichever file you’re working with).
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { countries } from './countries';
class App extends Component {
getCountry() {
return countries.map((country) => {
return <option value={country.dial_code}>{country.name}
</option>;
});
}
}
export default App;What we did here was to map through the object array using ES6 map function.
You can also see here that we’re passing the dial_code as the value because that’s what we want to pass when a country gets selected.
You can choose to pass the name as the value, which will then be country.name.
Moving on, let’s define our select tag in the render method and call the getCountry() function which we just created.
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { countries } from './countries';
class App extends Component {
render(){
return(
<div>
<select
className="form-control"
aria-label="Floating label select example"
onChange={this.handleChange}>
<option value="choose" disabled selected="selected">
-- Select country --
</option>
{this.getCountry()}
</select>
</div>
}We also need to define our handleChange function as well.
Our complete App.js file becomes:
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { countries } from './countries';
class App extends Component {
constructor ( props ) {
super ( props ) {
this.state = {
selectValue = "";
}
}
}
getCountry() {
return countries.map((country) => {
return <option value={country.dial_code}>{country.name}
</option>;
});
}
handleChange(e) {
this.setState({ selectValue: e.target.value });
}
render(){
return(
<div>
<select
className="form-control"
aria-label="Floating label select example"
onChange={this.handleChange}>
<option value="choose" disabled selected="selected">
-- Select country --
</option>
{this.getCountry()}
</select>
</div>
}
export default AppHere’s what our page looks like:
This is how to dynamically populate select options in React JS.
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