Python Pandas - Generate dates in a range

Pandas date_range() function generates a sequence of dates within a specified range. This is useful for creating time series data, filtering datasets by date periods, or setting up date indexes for analysis.

Syntax

pd.date_range(start, end, periods, freq)

Parameters

The key parameters are:

• start − Starting date of the range
• end − Ending date of the range
• periods − Number of dates to generate
• freq − Frequency (default is 'D' for daily)

Generating Dates with Periods

Generate 10 consecutive dates starting from a specific date ?

import pandas as pd

# Generate 10 dates starting from June 1, 2021
dates = pd.date_range('6/1/2021', periods=10)
print("Displaying dates in a range:\n", dates)

Displaying dates in a range:
 DatetimeIndex(['2021-06-01', '2021-06-02', '2021-06-03', '2021-06-04',
               '2021-06-05', '2021-06-06', '2021-06-07', '2021-06-08',
               '2021-06-09', '2021-06-10'],
              dtype='datetime64[ns]', freq='D')

Generating Dates with Start and End

Specify both start and end dates to generate all dates between them ?

import pandas as pd

# Generate dates between two specific dates
dates = pd.date_range(start='2021-06-01', end='2021-06-10')
print("Dates between start and end:\n", dates)

Dates between start and end:
 DatetimeIndex(['2021-06-01', '2021-06-02', '2021-06-03', '2021-06-04',
               '2021-06-05', '2021-06-06', '2021-06-07', '2021-06-08',
               '2021-06-09', '2021-06-10'],
              dtype='datetime64[ns]', freq='D')

Using Different Frequencies

Generate dates with weekly frequency instead of daily ?

import pandas as pd

# Generate weekly dates
weekly_dates = pd.date_range('2021-06-01', periods=8, freq='W')
print("Weekly dates:\n", weekly_dates)

Weekly dates:
 DatetimeIndex(['2021-06-06', '2021-06-13', '2021-06-20', '2021-06-27',
               '2021-07-04', '2021-07-11', '2021-07-18', '2021-07-25'],
              dtype='datetime64[ns]', freq='W-SUN')

Common Frequency Options

Conclusion

Use pd.date_range() to generate sequential dates by specifying start date with periods, or start and end dates. The freq parameter controls the interval between dates.