Skip to content
Skip to main content

About this free course

Download this course

Share this free course

Exploring data: Graphs and numerical summaries
Exploring data: Graphs and numerical summaries

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

3.2 Pie charts: Nuclear power stations

Figure 2 shows a pie chart of the number of nuclear power stations in countries where nuclear power is used, based on the data from Table 1.

Figure 2 Nuclear power stations (a pie chart)

It is not so easy to extract meaningful information from this more detailed diagram. You can pick out the main users of nuclear power, and that is about all.

When trying to construct pie charts for data with many categories, a common ploy of the graphic designer is to produce a pie chart which displays the main contributors and lumps together the smaller ones. However, the process inevitably involves loss of information.