Exploring data: graphs and numerical summaries

2.1 Nuclear power stations

The first data set is a very simple one. Table 1 shows the number of nuclear power stations in various countries throughout the world before the end of the cold war (that is, prior to 1989). The names of the countries listed are those that pertained at the time the data were collected.

Table 1 Nuclear power stations

Country Number
Canada 22
Czechoslovakia 13
East Germany 10
France 52
Japan 43
South Korea 9
Soviet Union 73
Spain 10
Sweden 12
UK 41
USA 119
West Germany 23

You could scarcely have a more straightforward table than this, and yet it is by no means clear what is the most meaningful and appealing way to show the information.