Python Generate random numbers within a given range and store in a list

In this article we will see how to generate random numbers between a pair of numbers and store those values in a list. Python's random module provides the randint() function for this purpose.

Syntax

random.randint(start, end)

Parameters:

• start ? Lower bound (inclusive)
• end ? Upper bound (inclusive)
• Both start and end should be integers
• Start should be less than or equal to end

Using a Function with Loop

In this example we use the range() function in a for loop. With help of append() we generate and add these random numbers to a new empty list ?

import random

def randinrange(start, end, n):
    res = []
    for j in range(n):
        res.append(random.randint(start, end))
    return res

# Number of random numbers needed
n = 5
# Start value
start = 12
# End value
end = 23
print(randinrange(start, end, n))

Running the above code gives us the following result ?

[21, 20, 20, 17, 20]

Using List Comprehension

A more concise approach using list comprehension ?

import random

def generate_random_list(start, end, n):
    return [random.randint(start, end) for _ in range(n)]

# Generate 7 random numbers between 1 and 10
numbers = generate_random_list(1, 10, 7)
print(numbers)

[3, 8, 1, 9, 5, 2, 7]

Using random.choices()

For generating multiple random numbers with replacement, you can use random.choices() ?

import random

# Generate 6 random numbers between 5 and 15
start, end = 5, 15
count = 6
numbers = random.choices(range(start, end + 1), k=count)
print(numbers)

[12, 8, 15, 11, 7, 9]

Comparison

Conclusion

Use list comprehension with randint() for simple random number generation. For large ranges or weighted selection, consider random.choices().