Sunburst Chart


Sunburst charts are used to compare categorical data.
The sunburst chart is an excellent choice to compare data to accomplish a compelling and effective visualization.
The demo below displays the number of visitors to the international space station per country. The audience can see at a glance that the United States and Russia have the most visitors to the international space station. The demo also visualizes that there are other nations, but their participation is not that significant compared to the United States and Russia.

Good to know

Pros:

  • Sunburst charts are easy to create and simple to understand.
  • The sunburst chart, similar to the pie chart, offers a compact shape that makes it an efficient chart to fit into a dashboard and small screens.

Cons:

  • Take caution to not overload the chart with excessive categories; otherwise, the audience will face challenges to see and distinguish between the periphery's arcs.

Accessibility

The sunburst chart can be easily adapted to suit the color-blind community (see below), by either adding a monochrome chart with borders.

Information

Learn more about how to create a sunburst chart.