Area chart

An area chart or area graph displays graphically quantitative data. It

is based on the line chart. The area between axis and line are
commonly emphasized with colors, textures and hatchings. Commonly
one compares two or more quantities with an area chart.

History Stacked area chart

William Playfair is usually credited with inventing the area charts as

well as the line, bar, and pie charts. His book The Commercial and
Political Atlas, published in 1786, contained a number of time-series
graphs, including Interest of the National Debt from the Revolution and
Chart of all the Imports and Exports to and from England from the
Year 1700 to 1782 that are often described as the first area charts in
history.[1][2]

Layered area chart

 Interest of the National Debt from the
Revolution (Playfair, 1786)

Exports and imports to and from Denmark &

Norway from 1700 to 1780 (Playfair, 1786)

Common uses
Area charts are used to represent cumulated totals using numbers or percentages (stacked area charts in this
case) over time. Use the area chart for showing trends over time among related attributes. The area chart is
like the plot chart except that the area below the plotted line is filled in with color to indicate volume.

When multiple attributes are included, the first attribute is plotted as a line with color fill followed by the
second attribute, and so on.

Variations
Area charts which use vertical and horizontal lines to connect the data points in a series forming a step-like
progression are called step-area charts.

Area charts in which data points are connected by smooth curves instead of straight lines are called spline-
area charts.[3]
Stacked area charts in which the area is displaced around the central axis are called streamgraphs.

References
1. Playfair, William; Wainer, Howard; Spence, Ian (2005). Playfair's Commercial and Political
Atlas and Statistical Breviary. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521855549.
2. Tufte, Edward (1983). The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (https://archive.org/deta
ils/visualdisplayofq00tuft/page/13). Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press. p. 13 (https://arc
hive.org/details/visualdisplayofq00tuft/page/13). ISBN 0961392142.
3. "Area, Spline-Area, Step-Area Charts" (https://web.archive.org/web/20151211093424/http://
www.anychart.com/products/anychart/gallery/Area,_Spline-Area,_Step-Area_Charts/).
AnyChart. Archived from the original (http://www.anychart.com/products/anychart/gallery/Are
a,_Spline-Area,_Step-Area_Charts/) on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.

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