6.1.1 When are pie charts used?

A pie chart gives an immediate visual idea of the relative sizes of the shares of a whole. It is a good method of representation if you wish to compare a part of a group with the whole group. You could use a pie chart to show, say, advertising income, or market shares for different brands, or different types of sandwiches sold by a store. Pie charts don't give very detailed information, but they do give a quick overall impression of your results. You can add more information into pie charts by inserting figures into each segment of the chart, or by giving a separate table as a reference. Pie charts are also useful for comparing two different things. For example, the share of goods that different supermarkets sell.