Exemple de CSV
| Country | CO2 per Capita (tonnes) |
|---|---|
| United States | 14.2 |
| Germany | 8.1 |
| China | 7.6 |
| Brazil | 2.2 |
| India | 1.9 |
| Nigeria | 0.6 |
How to Create a Choropleth Map
A step by step walkthrough for turning a spreadsheet of place names and numbers into a published choropleth map in PlotSet, from matching region names to exporting or embedding the finished map.
Environ 8 minutesPlace names and numbers go in; how to create a choropleth map in PlotSet comes out the other side as a published, interactive map you can share or embed. You will end up with regions shaded by your own values, a color scale that actually fits the data, and a legend that tells the reader what the shading means: not a screenshot of somebody else's country list with your numbers dropped in.
If your spreadsheet already uses the exact place names PlotSet's map template recognizes, this takes about eight minutes. Add another ten if you are starting from a report full of abbreviations, ISO codes or older country names: matching those to the template's region list is the part that eats time, not the styling. Budget the eight minutes below and treat the rest as a buffer.
Les données dont vous avez besoin
One row per region, two columns: the place name first, matching how the template labels its regions, and the number second. One header row, no totals row.
Use the same place names the map template uses, not abbreviations or codes. "USA" or "US" often will not match a region labeled "United States", and a mismatch drops that row's shading instead of throwing an error.
One number per region. If you want two years side by side, that calls for two separate maps or a time slider, not two columns crammed into one choropleth.
Leave regions you have no data for out of the sheet entirely, rather than filling them with a zero. PlotSet gives any region with no matching row a distinct no-data color; a zero would shade it like a real low value instead.
Delete any totals or world-aggregate row before uploading. A "Global" or "World" row has no matching region on the map, so it gets ignored, but it is cleaner to remove it at the source than to rely on that.
Les étapes
Le parcours exact dans PlotSet, d'un modèle vierge à un graphique terminé.
- 01
Open the Choropleth Map template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and choose the Choropleth Map template. It loads with a world map and sample data already in place, so you can see the place-name and value columns the template expects before swapping in your own file.
Chaque guide commence ici. Choisissez la catégorie, puis le modèle : c'est la même grille quel que soit le type de graphique visé. - 02
Pick the map that matches your data's geography
Choose world countries, or one of the state, province and county maps in the template library if your rows sit below the country level. Settling this first avoids a second round of place-name matching once you realize the template you started with is the wrong scale.
- 03
Shape your sheet into a place column and a value column
Put the region name in the first column and its number in the second, one row per region. Use standard names rather than abbreviations, ISO codes or postal codes: whatever format the map template's region list expects.
- 04
Upload the file, or connect a sheet
Use the data panel to import a CSV or .xlsx file, paste rows directly from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet so the map can pick up updated figures later without a re-upload.
La vue données, ici sur un projet de graphique en barres. Importez un CSV, extrayez les chiffres d'une image avec 'Magic Import' ou synchronisez une Google Sheet. Le panneau est identique pour tous les types de graphique. - 05
Check the unmatched-region list
After upload, confirm which column PlotSet read as the place name and which as the value. Then look at the unmatched list it shows: any row whose name did not find a region on the map lands there, and it is almost always a spelling or naming difference you can fix in seconds.
Les associations déterminent quelle colonne devient l'étiquette, laquelle fournit les valeurs et laquelle pilote la couleur. 'Auto Binding' les devine à partir de vos en-têtes : vérifiez-les plutôt que de les tenir pour acquises. - 06
Choose a color scale and set the no-data color
Use a single-hue sequential scale, light to dark, for ordinary low-to-high figures, and switch to a diverging scale only when your numbers have a real midpoint, such as zero or a national average. Set a distinct gray for regions with no matching data so missing never reads as low.
L'onglet 'Preview' pour un graphique Choropleth Map. Tous les réglages de style se trouvent dans le panneau entouré en rouge : apparence, en-tête, pied de page et les options propres à ce type de graphique, chacun dans un onglet distinct. - 07
Add a legend and a title that names the measure
Turn on the legend so the shading has a key, and title the map with what is being measured, "CO2 emissions per capita" rather than just "Map". A reader should know what the color means before they hover over a single region.
- 08
Publish, embed or export the map
Publish for a live, interactive map with hover tooltips and a shareable link, grab the embed code to drop it into a page, or export a PNG, SVG or PDF if you need a static image for a deck or a report.
Partez du modèle Choropleth Map avec des données d'exemple déjà chargées, puis remplacez-les par les vôtres.
Ouvrir le modèlePublier, intégrer ou exporter
La dernière ligne droite est la même pour tous les types de graphique : 'Share' transforme le graphique en lien public actif et en code d'intégration, 'Export' l'enregistre sous forme de fichier statique.
Share : lien public et code d'intégration
Activer le code d'intégration et le lien public revient à publier le graphique. Le lien peut être envoyé à qui vous voulez sans risque, et le code d'intégration s'insère dans n'importe quelle page sous la forme d'une iframe qui conserve les infobulles au survol et l'interactivité. Si vous modifiez le graphique par la suite, cliquez sur 'Recreate' pour répercuter ces changements sur le lien comme sur le code.
Export : SVG, PNG ou JPG
Le bouton 'Export' génère une copie statique à la taille dont vous avez besoin. Le SVG reste net à toutes les échelles et peut encore être modifié dans un outil de design ; PNG et JPG sont les choix sûrs pour les présentations et les documents. C'est le multiplicateur d'échelle qui vous donne une image nette sur un écran retina.
Conseils de style pour un Choropleth Map
Match names to the template, not to each other
PlotSet's map templates use a fixed list of region names per geography. Before uploading, check your trickier entries (small countries, disputed territories, recently renamed regions) against the template's own list rather than assuming your source spreadsheet's spelling counts as standard.
Shade rates, not raw counts
Land area does not track population, so a map colored by total count usually just redraws where people live. Convert to a rate, share or per-capita figure before shading, and save the raw totals for a bar chart instead.
Keep one level of geography per map
A single choropleth should shade one scale at a time: country, or state, not both mixed together. If you need a national overview and state-level detail, build two maps rather than combining region sizes on one, which breaks the color scale's comparison.
Label the no-data color in the legend
A gray swatch with no explanation leaves the reader guessing whether it means zero or unknown. Label it "No data" directly in the legend so the distinction is stated, not inferred from context.
Erreurs courantes en créant un Choropleth Map
Regions are missing shading even though they're in your sheet
This is almost always a name mismatch: your sheet says "USA" or "Ivory Coast" while the map template expects "United States" or "Côte d'Ivoire". Open the unmatched-rows list PlotSet shows after upload and correct the spelling for each name it flags, then re-upload.
The map looks like a population map, not your actual metric
Check whether you uploaded a raw count instead of a rate. Totals shade almost any map the same way a population map would, since bigger, denser regions post bigger numbers regardless of what you meant to measure. Divide by population or another sensible denominator and re-upload.
Missing regions look identical to low values
If every unshaded region sits at the same pale end of the scale as your lowest real values, the no-data color was probably never set. Open the color settings, assign a distinct gray to no-data, and leave regions you have no figure for out of the sheet entirely.
En savoir plus sur le Choropleth Map
Vous n'êtes pas sûr que le Choropleth Map soit le bon choix ? Découvrez ce que c'est, quand l'utiliser et quand l'éviter.
Choropleth Map : questions fréquentes
One column of place names and one column of numbers, with one row per region and one header row. The place names need to match the names the map template uses, standard country or state names rather than abbreviations or ISO codes, or that row's region will not get shaded.
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