title: Array.prototype.toLocaleString()
short-title: toLocaleString()
slug: Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/toLocaleString
page-type: javascript-instance-method
browser-compat: javascript.builtins.Array.toLocaleString
sidebar: jsref
The toLocaleString() method of {{jsxref("Array")}} instances returns a string representing
the elements of the array. The elements are converted to strings using their
toLocaleString methods and these strings are separated by a locale-specific
string (such as a comma ",").
{{InteractiveExample("JavaScript Demo: Array.prototype.toLocaleString()", "shorter")}}
const array = [1, "a", new Date("21 Dec 1997 14:12:00 UTC")];
const localeString = array.toLocaleString("en", { timeZone: "UTC" });
console.log(localeString);
// Expected output: "1,a,12/21/1997, 2:12:00 PM",
// This assumes "en" locale and UTC timezone - your results may vary
Syntax
toLocaleString()
toLocaleString(locales)
toLocaleString(locales, options)
Parameters
locales{{optional_inline}}- : A string with a {{glossary("BCP 47 language tag")}}, or an array of such strings. For the general form and interpretation of the
localesargument, see the parameter description on theIntlmain page.
- : A string with a {{glossary("BCP 47 language tag")}}, or an array of such strings. For the general form and interpretation of the
options{{optional_inline}}- : An object with configuration properties. What you can pass here depends on what elements are being converted. For example, for numbers, see {{jsxref("Number.prototype.toLocaleString()")}}.
Return value
A string representing the elements of the array.
Description
The Array.prototype.toLocaleString method traverses its content, calling the toLocaleString method of every element with the locales and options parameters provided, and concatenates them with an implementation-defined separator (such as a comma ",").
The
localesoroptionsarguments do not control the separator used between array elements; they are simply passed to thetoLocaleString()method of each element. The actual separator (usually a comma) depends solely on the host's current locale. If you expect localized list formatting, consider using {{jsxref("Intl.ListFormat")}} instead.
If an element is undefined, null, it is converted to an empty string instead of the string "null" or "undefined".
When used on sparse arrays, the toLocaleString() method iterates empty slots as if they have the value undefined.
The toLocaleString() method is generic. It only expects the this value to have a length property and integer-keyed properties.
Examples
Using locales and options
The elements of the array are converted to strings using their toLocaleString methods. For example, this snippet implicitly calls the {{jsxref("Number.prototype.toLocaleString()")}} method to display the currency for the strings and numbers in the prices array:
const prices = ["¥7", 500, 8123, 12];
prices.toLocaleString("ja-JP", { style: "currency", currency: "JPY" });
// "¥7,¥500,¥8,123,¥12"
List separators
The list separator is not affected by the locales parameter. To configure it, use {{jsxref("Intl.ListFormat")}} instead.
const nums = [8888, 9999];
console.log(nums.toLocaleString("zh")); // "8,888,9,999"
const formatter = new Intl.ListFormat("zh", {
type: "conjunction",
style: "narrow",
});
console.log(formatter.format(nums.map((x) => x.toLocaleString("zh"))));
// "8,888、9,999"
Using toLocaleString() on sparse arrays
toLocaleString() treats empty slots the same as undefined and produces an extra separator:
console.log([1, , 3].toLocaleString()); // '1,,3'
Calling toLocaleString() on non-array objects
The toLocaleString() method reads the length property of this and then accesses each property whose key is a nonnegative integer less than length.
const arrayLike = {
length: 3,
0: 1,
1: 2,
2: 3,
3: 4, // ignored by toLocaleString() since length is 3
};
console.log(Array.prototype.toLocaleString.call(arrayLike));
// 1,2,3
Specifications
{{Specifications}}
Browser compatibility
{{Compat}}
See also
- Indexed collections guide
- {{jsxref("Array")}}
- {{jsxref("Array.prototype.toString()")}}
- {{jsxref("TypedArray.prototype.toLocaleString()")}}
- {{jsxref("Intl")}}
- {{jsxref("Intl.ListFormat")}}
- {{jsxref("Object.prototype.toLocaleString()")}}
- {{jsxref("Number.prototype.toLocaleString()")}}
- {{jsxref("Temporal/PlainDate/toLocaleString", "Temporal.PlainDate.prototype.toLocaleString()")}}