Echo PHP Array: 10 Code Examples to Print Keys & Values (2023)

How to echo an array in PHP

There are multiple ways to echo arrays in PHP. Use a foreach loop, implode, print_r, or var_dump functions to display an array’s keys & values. I recommend using either var_dump or print_r if you are debugging whereas loops are useful when you need to access the data.

This article explains how to echo an array in PHP and includes a section about how we can print out a PHP array. Stick to the article and you will have better insights by the end of this article.

Let’s start without any further ado.

Echo PHP Arrays with Value PHP Code Examples

<?php 

$fruit = ["apple" => 2, "banana" => 3, "orange" => 7];

// Print an array using var_dump:
var_dump($fruit);


// Print an array using print_r:
print_r($fruit);


// Echo array keys using a foreach loop.
echo "fruits: ";
$i = 1;

foreach ($fruit as $item => $total) {
 echo $item;
 if ($i !== count($fruit) {
    echo ", ";
 }
 $i++;
}

// Display array keys using array_keys & implode function
echo "Fruits Available: " . implode(",", array_keys($fruit));


// Display array values using implode function
echo "Fruit totals: " . implode(",", $fruit);


// echo array keys & values in an html list using a foreach loop
// You can put PHP variables inside of double quotes. Checkout this example.
echo "<ul>Fruits:";
foreach ($fruits as $item => $total) {
   echo "<li>$item : $total</li>";
}
echo "</ul>";


// Display the contents of an array in an html table.
// This is similar to the previous but displays in table.
echo "<table>";
echo "<th>";
echo "<td>Fruit</td>";
echo "<td>Total</td>";
echo "</th>";

foreach ($fruits as $item => $total) {
  echo "<tr>";
  echo "<td>$item</td>";
  echo "<td>$total</td>";
  echo "</tr>";
}


// ADVANCED: Use recursion to echo multidimensional array values
$fruitDetails = [
  "apples" => [
    "green" => 2,
    "mcintosh" => 5,
    "fuji" => 3,
    "honeycrisp" => 6
  ]
];

echo "My Fruits:";
function recursiveValuePrinter(array $list) {
    echo "<ul>";

    foreach ($list as $type => $details) {
      if (is_array($details)) {
         recursiveValuePrinter($details);
       } else {
         echo "<li>$type : $details</li>";
       }
    }

   echo "</ul>";
}

recursiveValuePrinter($fruitDetails);

Table of Contents

• Why you can’t echo PHP Arrays
• Echo all PHP array values
• Echo all PHP array keys
• Use print_r to debug array data
• use var_dump to print & debug array types
• var_export is an alternative to print_r
• Echo PHP arrays into HTML using foreach loops

Why You Can’t Echo a PHP Array

PHP can’t echo arrays by design. The echo function is used to display & print string values that are used by various runtimes. Webservers are a good example. They need to display HTML content to browsers. Browsers don’t understand PHP or any such programming language. They interpret the HTML.

Therefore, it would create significant problems if PHP allowed you to echo a PHP array.

<?php
 
$arr = ["Hello", "World"];
 
echo $arr; //PHP Warning:  Array to string conversion
 
?>

So what do you do?

Luckily, there are many options available for you to use. I have used them all. Choosing the right one depends on what you are trying to do.

Don’t worry. We’ll walk you through the details.

Echo all PHP array values using the implode function

The implode function is the most common way to print & display PHP array values. The implode function separates each element in an array with a common separator.

I use this function to create CSV content from simple arrays.

implode(string $separator, array $array): string

The function joins the elements using the separator argument. The following example uses this function to join the array elements into a string and then echo it.

PHP Implode Array Code Example

<?php
 
$arr = ["Hello", "World"];
 
echo implode(" ", $arr); //Hello World
 
?>

Voila! The “echo” prints the string that it receives from the implode function. Here we have an overhead of a function call. But there are better ways. Let’s explore further.

Echo all PHP array keys using the implode function

The implode function can also print the keys of an array. You will need to use the array_keys function to transfer the keys into a new array that stores them as values. It is an easy two-step process.

There are other methods to echo PHP array keys, but I like this method because it’s simple and easy to read.

PHP Print All Array Keys PHP Code Example

<?php

$fruits = ["apples" => 1, "bananas" => 3, "oranges" => 0];

// step 1: create a new variable with the keys from the fruits
$fruitTypes = array_keys($fruits);

// step 2: print the values from the arrays
echo "fruits:" . implode(", ", $fruitTypes);

Echo PHP arrays using print_r

You can print the entire PHP array using the print_r function. The print_r function is really useful whenever you are debugging data. I use it a lot whenever I need to review the content response from an API. It displays both the key and values in a human-readable way.

PHP print_r  prints human-readable information about an array. It doesn’t include any intricate data type information. I always prefer it while working with arrays.

Print PHP Arrays Using print_r Code Example

<?php
 
$arr = ["Hello", "World"];
 
print_r($arr);
 
/*
OUTPUT
Array
(
    [0] => Hello
    [1] => World
)
*/
 
?>

Voila! No overhead of calling an extra function. PHP print_r is a one-liner to output an array.

Print an array in PHP with var_dump

The var_dump function can also be used to echo & debug PHP arrays like print_r. The difference is that var_dump also includes the value type (string, integer, boolean, array, etc). I use the var_dump quite often in debugging financial data where the values may be numbers in either string, integer or float types.

PHP var_dump prints an array with details about the data types of all the elements. The output appears a little bit messy especially if you’re dealing with multidimensional arrays.

Echo PHP array using var_dump function code example

<?php
 
$arr = ["Hello", "World", 1, true];
 
var_dump($arr);
 
/*
OUTPUT
array(4) {
  [0]=>
  string(5) "Hello"
  [1]=>
  string(5) "World"
  [2]=>
  int(1)
  [3]=>
  bool(true)
}
*/
 
?>

See! It prints out the array with information about the data types of every element.

Echo an array in PHP with var_export

The var_export function is another useful method to print & debug a PHP array. It is very similar to the print_r function. The difference between print_r & var_export is that you don’t have to print the results with var_export. You may want to just return the data.

Honestly, I have never used this function in any meaningful way. I will stick with print_r most of the time.

PHP var_export is a useful function to echo an array in PHP. It either prints out or returns a parsable string representation of an array. 

var_export(mixed $value, bool $return = false): ?string

If the return argument is true it would return the value rather than printing it. Here’s how.

<?php
 
$arr = ["Hello", "World", 1, true];
 
var_export($arr);
 
/*
array (
  0 => 'Hello',
  1 => 'World',
  2 => 1,
  3 => true,
)
*/
 
?>

Alternatively, set the return to true and store the return value to an array. You can then print the variable using any of the above methods.

<?php
 
$arr = ["Hello", "World", 1, true];
 
$arr_output = var_export($arr, true);
 
print_r($arr_output);
 
/*
array (
  0 => 'Hello',
  1 => 'World',
  2 => 1,
  3 => true,
)
*/
 
?>

Voila! We have seen pretty much all the options to print an array in PHP. 

Echo all PHP Array Keys & Values into HTML

Use a foreach loop whenever you want to Echo PHP array values into HTML. The foreach loop will execute any code that exist inside of it for each element of an array that is passed into it.

I often use this loop when creating tables or HTML lists.

Display PHP Arrays into HTML List Code Example

<?php 

$fruits = ["apples" => 1, "bananas" => 2, "oranges" => 5];

echo "<ul>";
foreach ($fruits as $type => $total) {
   echo "<li>$type : $total</li>";
}
echo "</ul>";

Echo Keys & Values from PHP Arrays

This article includes all the methods to echo an array in PHP. First, it overviews the PHP “echo” construct with the implode function. Next, it goes through the print_r function. Following print_r, the article shows how to echo an array in PHP using var_dump. Finally, it includes a section about var_export.

Hopefully, this article answers your question. Stay tuned at FuelingPHP if you’re interested in similar articles and tutorials about PHP.

Learn More About Loops in PHP

Want to learn how to use loops in PHP? This article is part of our series on looping through PHP arrays. Check out our full series to become a PHP array loop ninja.

• Intro to PHP Array Loops
• When to use while vs foreach loop in PHP
• How to Use array_chunk with foreach loop
• How to break out of a foreach loop
• Loop Through Multidimensional Arrays
• Difference between while and do while loops
• Recursive Loop Multidimensional JSON Arrays
• Store foreach Loop Value in Array

PHP Fundamentals Recommendations

This article is part of our content on PHP Fundamentals. It includes the core concepts that build upon the foundation of writing high-quality PHP code. If you are looking to grow your PHP development abilities. Check out the following recommended affiliate resources.

We do make a commission if you do choose to buy through our links. It is one of the ways that help support our mission here at FuelingPHP.

Book: Fundamentals of Web Development

Book: Programming in PHP (O’Reilly)

Book: Design Patterns in PHP

Video Course: PHP Fundamentals (Pluralsight)

Complete Learning Path: Web Development (Pluralsight)

Want more reviews? Check out our HUGE list of Beginner Web Development Books We’ve Researched and Reviewed for you.

Learn More About Loops in PHP

Want to learn how to use loops in PHP? This article is part of our series on looping through PHP arrays. Check out our full series to become a PHP array loop ninja.

• Intro to PHP Array Loops
• When to use while vs foreach loop in PHP
• How to Use array_chunk with foreach loop
• How to break out of a foreach loop
• Loop Through Multidimensional Arrays
• Difference between while and do while loops
• Recursive Loop Multidimensional JSON Arrays
• Store foreach Loop Value in Array

PHP Fundamentals Recommendations

This article is part of our content on PHP Fundamentals. It includes the core concepts that build upon the foundation of writing high-quality PHP code. If you are looking to grow your PHP development abilities. Check out the following recommended affiliate resources.

We do make a commission if you do choose to buy through our links. It is one of the ways that help support our mission here at FuelingPHP.

Book: Fundamentals of Web Development

Book: Programming in PHP (O’Reilly)

Book: Design Patterns in PHP

Video Course: PHP Fundamentals (Pluralsight)

Complete Learning Path: Web Development (Pluralsight)

Want more reviews? Check out our HUGE list of Beginner Web Development Books We’ve Researched and Reviewed for you.

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