Category: tutorials

Matplotlib Histogram

Matplotlib can be used to create histograms. A histogram shows the frequency on the vertical axis and the horizontal axis is another dimension. Usually it has bins, where every bin has a minimum and maximum value. Each bin also has a frequency between x and infinite.

Related course

Data Visualization with Matplotlib and Python

Matplotlib histogram example
Below we show the most minimal Matplotlib histogram:

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.mlab as mlab
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

x = [21,22,23,4,5,6,77,8,9,10,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,18,49,50,100]
num_bins = 5
n, bins, patches = plt.hist(x, num_bins, facecolor='blue', alpha=0.5)
plt.show()

Output:

Python histogram

A complete matplotlib python histogram
Many things can be added to a histogram such as a fit line, labels and so on. The code below creates a more advanced histogram.

#!/usr/bin/env python

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.mlab as mlab
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# example data
mu = 100 # mean of distribution
sigma = 15 # standard deviation of distribution
x = mu + sigma * np.random.randn(10000)

num_bins = 20
# the histogram of the data
n, bins, patches = plt.hist(x, num_bins, normed=1, facecolor='blue', alpha=0.5)

# add a 'best fit' line
y = mlab.normpdf(bins, mu, sigma)
plt.plot(bins, y, 'r--')
plt.xlabel('Smarts')
plt.ylabel('Probability')
plt.title(r'Histogram of IQ: $\mu=100$, $\sigma=15$')

# Tweak spacing to prevent clipping of ylabel
plt.subplots_adjust(left=0.15)
plt.show()

Output:

python_histogram

Download Examples

Matplotlib Bar chart

Matplotlib may be used to create bar charts. You might like the Matplotlib gallery.

Matplotlib is a python library for visualizing data. You can use it to create bar charts in python. Installation of matplot is on pypi, so just use pip: pip install matplotlib

The course below is all about data visualization:

Related course:
Data Visualization with Matplotlib and Python

Bar chart code

A bar chart shows values as vertical bars, where the position of each bar indicates the value it represents. matplot aims to make it as easy as possible to turn data into Bar Charts.

A bar chart in matplotlib made from python code. The code below creates a bar chart:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt; plt.rcdefaults()
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

objects = ('Python', 'C++', 'Java', 'Perl', 'Scala', 'Lisp')
y_pos = np.arange(len(objects))
performance = [10,8,6,4,2,1]

plt.bar(y_pos, performance, align='center', alpha=0.5)
plt.xticks(y_pos, objects)
plt.ylabel('Usage')
plt.title('Programming language usage')

plt.show()

Output:

Python Bar Chart

Matplotlib charts can be horizontal, to create a horizontal bar chart:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt; plt.rcdefaults()
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

objects = ('Python', 'C++', 'Java', 'Perl', 'Scala', 'Lisp')
y_pos = np.arange(len(objects))
performance = [10,8,6,4,2,1]

plt.barh(y_pos, performance, align='center', alpha=0.5)
plt.yticks(y_pos, objects)
plt.xlabel('Usage')
plt.title('Programming language usage')

plt.show()

Output:

Bar chart horizontal

Bar chart comparison

You can compare two data series using this Matplotlib code:

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# data to plot
n_groups = 4
means_frank = (90, 55, 40, 65)
means_guido = (85, 62, 54, 20)

# create plot
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
index = np.arange(n_groups)
bar_width = 0.35
opacity = 0.8

rects1 = plt.bar(index, means_frank, bar_width,
alpha=opacity,
color='b',
label='Frank')

rects2 = plt.bar(index + bar_width, means_guido, bar_width,
alpha=opacity,
color='g',
label='Guido')

plt.xlabel('Person')
plt.ylabel('Scores')
plt.title('Scores by person')
plt.xticks(index + bar_width, ('A', 'B', 'C', 'D'))
plt.legend()

plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()

Output:

Python Bar Chart comparison

Stacked bar chart

The example below creates a stacked bar chart with Matplotlib. Stacked bar plots show diffrent groups together.

# load matplotlib
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# data set
x = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']
y1 = [100, 120, 110, 130]
y2 = [120, 125, 115, 125]

# plot stacked bar chart 
plt.bar(x, y1, color='g')
plt.bar(x, y2, bottom=y1, color='y')
plt.show()

Output:

stacked bar chart

Download All Matplotlib Examples

pie chart python

Matplotlib is a versatile library in Python that supports the creation of a wide variety of charts, including pie charts. Check out the Matplotlib gallery to explore more chart types.

Related course: Data Visualization with Matplotlib and Python

Crafting a Pie Chart with Matplotlib

To begin with, ensure you’ve imported the required module using: import matplotlib.pyplot as plt. Once done, the plt.pie() method is readily available for creating your pie chart.

Here’s a simple example that demonstrates how to generate a pie chart:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Defining data for the chart
labels = 'Python', 'C++', 'Ruby', 'Java'
sizes = [215, 130, 245, 210]
colors = ['gold', 'yellowgreen', 'lightcoral', 'lightskyblue']
explode = (0.1, 0, 0, 0)  # explode 1st slice

# Plotting the chart
plt.pie(sizes, explode=explode, labels=labels, colors=colors, autopct='%1.1f%%', shadow=True, startangle=140)
plt.axis('equal')
plt.show()

With the above code, the result is a visually pleasing pie chart.

pie chart python

Matplotlib allows for extensive customization. You can determine slice sizes, which segments should stand out from the center (explode), their respective labels, and even their colors.

plt.pie(sizes, explode=explode, labels=labels, colors=colors, ...)

Enhancing Your Pie Chart with a Legend

To make your pie chart even more informative, consider adding a legend using the plt.legend() function. This overlays a legend on your chart, providing clarity.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

labels = ['Cookies', 'Jellybean', 'Milkshake', 'Cheesecake']
sizes = [38.4, 40.6, 20.7, 10.3]
colors = ['yellowgreen', 'gold', 'lightskyblue', 'lightcoral']
patches, texts = plt.pie(sizes, colors=colors, shadow=True, startangle=90)
plt.legend(patches, labels, loc="best")
plt.axis('equal')
plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()

This code renders a pie chart that’s enriched with a legend.

python pie chart

Always remember, after setting up your plot, call the method .show() to ensure it gets displayed.

plt.show()

For more examples and downloadable code, click here.

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