Country Map, Choropleth

A world map may be used to show a comparison of measurement values among countries. With data that meets ratio and statistical continuity guidelines, a choropleth map is a good chart choice.

The following steps demonstrate how to create a new map visual on the dataset World Life Expectancy [data source samples.world_life_expectancy]. It produces colored regions for the measurements that correspond to the country field.

  1. Start a new visual based on dataset World Life Expectancy [data source samples.world_life_expectancy]; see Creating Visuals.
  2. In the visuals menu, find and click Map (row 5, column 1).

    selecting map chart type
  3. Note that the shelves of the visual changed. They are now X, Y, Geo, Measures, Drill, Tooltips, and Filters.

    The only mandatory shelf for map visuals is Geo.

    shelves of map visual type
  4. Populate the shelves from the available fields (Dimensions, Measures, and so on) in the Data menu.

    • Under Dimensions, select country and drag it over the Geo shelf on the main part of the screen. Drop to add it to the shelf.
    • Under Measures, select gdp_per_capita and drag it over the Measures shelf on the main part of the screen. Drop to add it to the shelf.
    • Under Measures, select year and add it to the Filters shelf. When the Filter for year window modal appears, select 2010 in the Values tab, and click Apply.
  5. Click Refresh Visual.

  6. The map visual graph appears.

  7. [Optional] On the Tooltips shelf, add several fields from Dimensions and Measures.

    This enables you to see specific descriptive information in your visuals, such as input values, segment affiliation, and calculations.

    For example, from Dimensions, drag un_subregion, un_region, and year onto the Tooltip shelf.

  8. [Optional] Alias the fields on the shelves to improve the readability of the visual and its tooltip. See Alias.

    • gdp_per_capita as GDP per Capita
    • un_subregion as UN Subregion
    • un_region as UN Region
    • year as Year
  9. [Optional] Format the number reported by the GDP per Capita field to include a thousands separator, and format Year not to use the thousands separator. See Number Display Format.
  10. [Optional] Enable panning and zooming option, as described in Customizing Zoom.
  11. [Optional] Change the color palette to blue, as described in Change Color Palette.
  12. Click Refresh Visual.

    The map visual appears.

    You can move the visual (pan), zoom in and out, and see the details in the Tooltips text.

  13. Click (pencil icon) next to the title of the visualization to edit it, and enter the new name.

  14. Change the title to World Population - Choropleth Map.
  15. At the top left corner of the Visual Designer, click Save.