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How to Create Geo Charts in Google Sheets
Learn how to create geospatial charts in Google Sheets, useful for showing data based on location
Unsure which chart type to use? Click here to find the right chart for your data and the ideas that you want to convey.
Geo charts are one of the more sophisticated forms of charts that you can create in Google Sheets. Geo charts are used to visualize types of data that depend on location. For example, geo charts can be used to compare the same metric across countries or states.
Google Sheets offers two formats: the one where the countries are shaded, labelled as Geo charts; and the other one where the relative values are represented as bubbles above the countries, called Geo chart with markets.
In this tutorial, we will learn how to create geo charts in Google Sheets.
How to format data for geo charts
The data should be in two columns:
- The first column contains geographical data, i.e. name of the country. You can spell out the names or use the region codes..
- The second column contains your numeric data. The label can be added in the row before the first entry.
For our example, we want to make a geo chart of GDP of all countries. Our data looks as follows:
How to create a geo chart
Step 1: Select the data that you want to plot.
Step 2: Click Insert then select Charts.
Step 3: A geo chart will not be selected by default:
Go to the Chart editor sidebar that will appear on the right side of Google Sheets, then click the drop-down box below Chart type. A list of options will appear. Scroll down and click on the option for a Geo chart.
Step 4: The Geo chart is done.
How to create a geo chart with markers
Step 1: Select the data that you want to plot.
Step 2: Click Insert then select Charts.
Step 3: A geo chart will not be selected by default:
Go to the Chart editor sidebar that will appear on the right side of Google Sheets, then click the drop-down box below Chart type. A list of options will appear. Scroll down and click on the option for a Geo chart with markers.
Step 4: The Geo chart with markers is done.
Geo chart with markers take some time to load, and when you use the Download option, the circles may not be included in the resulting image file.
How to change the color range of the geo chart
As you can see, the selected range is from red to green, with red for the smallest values while the green has the biggest values. We can change the colors. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Go to the Chart editor sidebar, then select the Customize tab and click Geo.
The options for min value, max value, mid value, and no value appear. For example, let’s say that we want to change the min value color to yellow, the mid value to green, and the max value to blue.
Step 2: To change the min value color, click the color below the Min label. A palette will appear where you can select the color. We want to select the yellow color, and we will choose it from the palette.
Step 3: Repeat Step 2 for max value, mid value, and no value (if you want to change it).
The result is now:
How to zoom in to a specific region in the geo chart
When you have a world map for a geo chart, Google Sheets allows you to “zoom in” to a specific region. Let’s say we want to “zoom in” to Asia. To do so, here are the steps:
Step 1: On the Chart editor, click the Customize tab, then select Geo options. A list of options will appear. Select the drop-down box below the Region label.
Step 2: A list of regions for the world will appear. Select Asia.
Here is the result:
How to create a geo chart for US states
You can also create a geo chart for US states’ data. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Select the data, then click Insert, then select Chart.
Step 2: Go to the Chart editor sidebar that will appear on the right side of Google Sheets, then click the drop-down box below Chart type. A list of options will appear. Scroll down to find the Geo chart option and click it.
Step 3: By default, the world geo chart will appear, but it will be empty:
To change the region to that of US states, click the Customize tab in the Chart editor sidebar, then click Geo options. A drop-down box will appear. Select United States.
We now have the following result:
You can apply the previous steps to change the color range as well:
Key takeaway
Geo charts on Google Sheets are not as comprehensive as those of advanced visualization software available on the market, but they allow enough versatility in visualizing geographical data worldwide and in the United States, and they are also relatively easy to use, so you don’t even need to use a plug-in.
