Area chart with Python

Cedric Vidonne

Lei Chen

Area chart with Python

An area chart, like a line chart, displays the evolution of numeric variables over a continuous period of time. However, in an area chart, the area between the line and x-axis is filled with colour or texture.

More about: Area chart


Basic area chart

# import libraries
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd
plt.style.use(['unhcrpyplotstyle','area'])

#load and reshape the data
df = pd.read_csv('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GDS-ODSSS/unhcr-dataviz-platform/master/data/change_over_time/area.csv')
df = df.pivot(index='year', columns='population_type', values='population_number')
df = df.reset_index()

#compute data for plotting
x = df['year']
y = df['Refugees']

#plot the chart
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
ax.stackplot(x, y)

#set chart title
ax.set_title('Number of refugees | 1990-2021')

#set y-axis label
ax.set_ylabel('Number of people (millions)')

#format x-axis tick labels
def number_formatter(x, pos):
    if x >= 1e6:
        s = '{:1.0f}M'.format(x*1e-6)
    elif x < 1e6 and x > 0:
        s = '{:1.0f}K'.format(x*1e-3)
    else: 
        s = '{:1.0f}'.format(x)
    return s
ax.yaxis.set_major_formatter(number_formatter)

#set chart source and copyright
plt.annotate('Source: UNHCR Refugee Data Finder', (0,0), (0, -25), xycoords='axes fraction', textcoords='offset points', va='top', color = '#666666', fontsize=9)
plt.annotate('©UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency', (0,0), (0, -35), xycoords='axes fraction', textcoords='offset points', va='top', color = '#666666', fontsize=9)

#adjust chart margin and layout
fig.tight_layout()

#show chart
plt.show()

An area chart showing number of refugees | 1990-2021


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