Horizontal Bar Chart
Horizontal bar charts display data using rectangular bars of varying lengths, where the length of each bar is proportional to the value it represents. The bars are arranged horizontally from a vertical axis, making this format particularly effective for comparing values across many categories, displaying items with long labels, or showing ranked data. This orientation provides more space for category labels and accommodates more categories than vertical bar charts.
Definition
Horizontal bar charts display data using rectangular bars of varying lengths, where the length of each bar is proportional to the value it represents. The bars are arranged horizontally from a vertical axis, making this format particularly effective for comparing values across many categories, displaying items with long labels, or showing ranked data. This orientation provides more space for category labels and accommodates more categories than vertical bar charts.
Examples
Population comparison by country
Chart Visualization
This example includes an interactive chart visualization with 4 data points.
Chart type: bar-horizontal
Usage
Best Used For
- Comparing quantities across categories with long or detailed labels
- Ranking data in order (e.g., highest to lowest)
- Displaying survey results and Likert scale responses
- Showing data with many categories (10+ items)
- Presenting hierarchical or nested categorical data
- Visualizing performance metrics across organizational units
Data Requirements
[Object]
Limitations
Important Considerations
- ⚠May not be ideal for time series data where time is traditionally shown horizontally
- ⚠Can take up more vertical space than vertical bar charts
- ⚠Less intuitive for showing changes over chronological periods
- ⚠May require more screen space for effective display with many categories
Best Used For
- Comparing quantities across categories with long or detailed labels
- Ranking data in order (e.g., highest to lowest)
- Displaying survey results and Likert scale responses
- Showing data with many categories (10+ items)
- Presenting hierarchical or nested categorical data
- Visualizing performance metrics across organizational units
