Bar chart

A bar chart or bar graph is a chart or graph that

presents categorical data with rectangular bars with
heights or lengths proportional to the values that they
represent. The bars can be plotted vertically or
horizontally. A vertical bar chart is sometimes called a
column chart.

A bar graph shows comparisons among discrete

categories. One axis of the chart shows the specific
categories being compared, and the other axis
represents a measured value. Some bar graphs
present bars clustered in groups of more than one,
showing the values of more than one measured
variable.

History
Example of a grouped (clustered) bar chart, one with
Many sources consider William Playfair (1759-1824) horizontal bars.
to have invented the bar chart and the Exports and
Imports of Scotland to and from different parts for
one Year from Christmas 1780 to Christmas 1781 graph from his The Commercial and Political Atlas to be
the first bar chart in history. Diagrams of the velocity of a constantly accelerating object against time
published in The Latitude of Forms (attributed to Jacobus de Sancto Martino or, perhaps, to Nicole
Oresme)[1] about 300 years before can be interpreted as "proto bar charts".[2][3]

Usage
Bar graphs/charts provide a visual presentation
of categorical data.[4] Categorical data is a
grouping of data into discrete groups, such as
months of the year, age group, shoe sizes, and
animals. These categories are usually qualitative.
In a column (vertical) bar chart, categories
appear along the horizontal axis and the height A vertical stacked bar A vertical stacked bar chart
of the bar corresponds to the value of each chart with positive values with negative values
category.

Bar charts have a discrete domain of categories, and are usually scaled so that all the data can fit on the
chart. When there is no natural ordering of the categories being compared, bars on the chart may be
arranged in any order. Bar charts arranged from highest to lowest incidence are called Pareto charts.

Grouped (clustered) and stacked

Bar graphs can also be used for more complex
comparisons of data with grouped (or
"clustered") bar charts, and stacked bar charts.[4]

In grouped (clustered) bar charts, for each

categorical group there are two or more bars
color-coded to represent a particular grouping.
For example, a business owner with two stores
might make a grouped bar chart with different
colored bars to represent each store: the
horizontal axis would show the months of the A horizontal stacked bar A vertical, grouped (clustered)
year and the vertical axis would show revenue. chart 3D bar chart

Alternatively, a stacked bar chart stacks bars

on top of each other so that the height of the resulting stack shows the combined result. Stacked bar charts
are not suited to data sets having both positive and negative values.

Grouped bar charts usually present the information in the same order in each grouping. Stacked bar charts
present the information in the same sequence on each bar.

Variable-width (variwide)

Variable-width bar charts, sometimes abbreviated variwide (bar)

charts, are bar charts having bars with non-uniform widths.
Generally:

Bars represent quantities with respective rectangles of

areas A that are respective arithmetic products of related
pairs of
Example: Variable-width bar chart
relating:
— vertical-axis quantities (A/X) and
* countries' respective populations
— horizontal-axis quantities (X).
(along x axis),
Arithmetically, the area of each bar (rectangle) is * per-person greenhouse gas
determined a product of sides' lengths: emissions (along y axis), and
* total emissions for that country
(A/X)*X = Area A for each bar (rectangle area = product x*y of
sides' lengths)
Roles of the vertical and horizontal axes may be reversed,
depending on the desired application.

Examples of variable-width bar charts are shown at Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/

wiki/Category:Variable-width_bar_charts).

Advantages
1. Easy to read and interpret: Bar charts are easy to read and interpret, even for people without
a background in statistics or data visualization. The bars make it easy to compare values
and see trends, making it a useful tool for communicating information to a wide range of
audiences.
2. Can handle large amounts of data: Bar charts can handle large amounts of data and still
provide a clear representation of the information. The bars can be made narrow or wide to fit
a large number of categories or data points, and the use of color or patterns can make it
easier to distinguish between them.
3. Customizable: Bar charts can be customized to suit the needs of the user. For example, the
color, width, and height of the bars can be adjusted to make the chart more visually
appealing, and labels and annotations can be added to provide additional information.
4. Useful for comparing values: Bar charts are particularly useful for comparing values between
categories or data points. They allow for quick identification of differences and similarities,
making it easy to draw conclusions and make decisions.[5][6]

Limitations
1. Limited use for continuous data: Bar charts are not useful for displaying continuous data,
such as temperature or time. For continuous data, a line chart or scatter plot may be more
appropriate.
2. Limited use for small sample sizes: Bar charts may not be useful for displaying small sample
sizes, as the bars may not accurately represent the data. In such cases, a histogram or box
plot may be more appropriate.
3. May be misleading: Bar charts can be misleading if the scale is not appropriate or if the data
is presented in a way that is designed to mislead the viewer. For example, if the y-axis is
truncated, the differences between the bars may appear larger than they actually are.
4. Limited scope for multivariate data: Bar charts can only display one or two variables at a
time, making them less useful for displaying multivariate data. In such cases, a scatter plot or
heat map may be more appropriate.[5][6]

See also
Data and information visualization
Enhanced Metafile Format to use in office suites, as MS PowerPoint
Histogram, similar appearance - for continuous data
Misleading graph
To include bar charts in Wikipedia, see Extension:EasyTimeline.

References
1. Clagett, Marshall (1968), Nicole Oresme and the Medieval Geometry of Qualities and
Motions, Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press, pp. 85–99, ISBN 0-299-04880-2
2. Beniger, James R.; Robyn, Dorothy L. (1978), "Quantitative Graphics in Statistics: A Brief
History", The American Statistician, Taylor & Francis, Ltd., 32 (1): 1–11,
doi:10.1080/00031305.1978.10479235 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00031305.1978.104792
35), JSTOR 2683467 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2683467)
3. Der, Geoff; Everitt, Brian S. (2014). A Handbook of Statistical Graphics Using SAS ODS (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=kB8bBAAAQBAJ). Chapman and Hall - CRC. ISBN 978-1-
584-88784-3.
4. Kelley, W. M.; Donnelly, R. A. (2009) The Humongous Book of Statistics Problems. New
York, NY: Alpha Books ISBN 1592578659
5. Reid, Nathalie (2018-01-12). "Data Visualization: A Guide to Visual Storytelling for Libraries"
(http://jmla.pitt.edu/ojs/jmla/article/view/346). Journal of the Medical Library Association. 106
 (1): 135. doi:10.5195/jmla.2018.346 (https://doi.org/10.5195%2Fjmla.2018.346). ISSN 1558-
9439 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1558-9439). PMC 5764581 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC5764581).
6. Healy, Kieran Joseph (2019). Data visualization : a practical introduction (https://www.worldc
at.org/oclc/1032356534). Princeton, New Jersey. ISBN 978-0-691-18161-5.
OCLC 1032356534 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1032356534).

External links
Graphing (https://curlie.org/Science/Math/Software/Graphing) at Curlie (directory of graphing
software and online tools; many can handle bar charts)

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