Bar Graph | Examples & How To Draw a Bar Graph

Bar Graph in Maths: A bar chart displays categorical data using rectangular bars whose heights or lengths correspond to the values they represent. These bars can be arranged vertically or horizontally. When plotted vertically, the bar chart is often referred to as a column chart.

A bar graph is a visual representation of data using rectangular bars. The bars can be vertical or horizontal, and their lengths are proportional to the data they represent. Bar graphs are also known as bar charts or bar diagrams. Bar graphs can compare items or show how something changes over time.

Let’s learn how to make bar graphs in maths, their types, and practical uses.

What is a Bar graph?

A bar graph, also known as a bar chart, is a graphical display of data using bars of different heights or lengths. It is used to compare quantities across different categories. Each bar represents a category of data, and the size of the bar represents the value or frequency of the category it corresponds to. Bar graphs can be drawn horizontally or vertically.

Bar Graph Definition

Bar graph is a visual representation of data in statistics that uses bars to compare different categories or groups. Each bar in a bar graph represents a category or group, and the length or height of the bar corresponds to the value or frequency of that category.

Key elements of a bar graph include:

1. Axes: Most bar graphs have two axes. The x-axis typically lists the categories being compared, and the y-axis represents the measured values.
2. Bars: Each bar’s length or height varies according to the data it represents.
3. Labels: Categories and values are labeled to make the data easy to understand.
4. Title: The title of the bar graph provides an overview of what the data represents.

It is also called a bar chart. Bar graphs are represented in vertical or horizontal rectangular bars, where the bars’ length represents the data’s growth.

A Bar Graph makes data look tidy and easy to understand. It also makes it simple to compare different pieces of information.

Bar Graph Properties

Key properties of Bar Graph are mentioned below:

• Every bar graph has a uniform width which is used to analyze data according to different points.
• It can be either horizontal or vertical.
• Every bar graph has two axes, one for the Graph and the other for the quantity of the data.
• The graph shows the comparison of data over a particular time.

Parts of a Bar Graph

The main parts of a bar graph include:

• Title: Describes the purpose or subject of the graph.
• X-axis (horizontal axis): Represents the categories or groups being compared.
• Y-axis (vertical axis): Displays the values or quantities corresponding to each category.
• Bars: Vertical or horizontal rectangles representing the data values for each category.
• Data labels: Numerical values attached to the bars to show the exact measurement.
• Legend: Explains the meaning of different colours or patterns if multiple data sets are presented.
• Scale: The units or intervals used on the axes to measure and represent the data accurately.

Bar Graph Types

The different types of bar graph are:

• Vertical Bar Graph
• Horizontal Bar Graph
• Grouped Bar Graph

Vertical Bar Graph

Vertical bar graph is a type of data visualisation technique used to represent data using vertical bars or columns. It is also known as a vertical bar chart.

Vertical Bar Graphs are the most common bar graph we come across. The bars of grouped data in vertical bar graphs lie vertically.

When dealing with long category names, it’s easier to use Horizontal Bar Graphs. In Vertical Bar Graphs, the x-axis space is limited, making it challenging to display lengthy category names.

Illustration of Vertical Bar Graph

Horizontal Bar Graph

Horizontal bar graphs are the graphs that have their rectangular bars lying horizontally. This means that the frequency of the data lie on the x-axis while the categories of the data lie on the y-axis.

Choose Horizontal Bar Graphs when dealing with long category names, as they work better when there isn’t enough space on the x-axis.

Horizontal Bar Graph Illustration

Grouped Bar Graph

Grouped bar graphs are the bar charts in which multiple sets of data items are compared, with a single colour used to denote a specific series across all sets. It is also called the clustered bar graph.

A grouped bar graph compares different sets of data items. It uses a single colour to represent each series within the set.

• The grouped bar graph is used to represent the discrete value for more than one object that shares the same category. As with basic Bar charts, both vertical and horizontal versions of grouped bar charts are available.
• The grouped bar graph can be represented using both vertical and horizontal bar charts.

Here is a diagram illustrating Grouped Bar Graph.

Illustration of Grouped Bar Graph

How to Draw a Bar Graph

Let’s understand drawing a bar graph with an example of 5 students (A, B, C, D, E) and their weights: 45, 35, 25, 38, 40. We will have to follow a sequence of steps.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Bar Graphs

Here is a stepwise-process of creating bar graphs.

Step 1: First decide the title of the Bar Graph.

Step 2: Draw the x-axis(horizontal) and y-axis(vertical) and plot a graph using two axes.

Step 3: Now, Give name to X-axis and Y-axis and label both the axes.

Step 4: then just draw rectangular bars respectively according to their weight.

Step 5: Finally, draw the bar graph which represents the weight of the five students.

Bar Graph vs Other Graphs

We are going to discuss the comparison of Bar Graph with these others Graphs :

1. Bar Graph Vs Histogram
2. Bar Graph Vs Line Graph
3. Bar Graph Vs Pie Chart

Difference between Bar Graph and Histogram

These are the key difference between Bar Graph and Histogram tabulated below:

Feature	Bar Graph	Histogram
Data Type	Discrete data types	Continuous data types
Bar Width	Bars are of equal width	Bars can have unequal width
Spacing Between Bars	There is spacing between bars	Bars are adjacent with no spacing
Data Representation	Represents categories or groups	Represents frequency distribution of data
Use Case Example	Used for students in different classes	Used for students’ ages within the same class
Purpose	To compare different categories or groups	To show the distribution of a continuous variable

Read in Detail: Difference Between Bar Graph and Histogram

Difference between Bar Graph and Line Graph

Here’s a table summarising the difference between Line Graphs and Bar Graphs:

Feature	Line Graph	Bar Graph
Graphical Representation	Plotted using a single line connecting points	Plotted using rectangular bars
Data Connection	Points are connected in a series	Each bar stands alone
Growth Representation	Shown through the rise and fall of the line	Indicated by the height or length of the bars
Data Type	Best for continuous data	Suitable for both discrete and continuous data
Visual Emphasis	Emphasizes trends and changes over time	Highlights comparisons between categories
Use Case Example	Used for showing stock price changes over time	Used for comparing sales figures of different products

Difference between Bar Graph and Pie Chart

Bar graph displays data using rectangular bars to represent the value of different categories, while a pie chart represents data as slices of a circle.

Here’s a table summarising the key difference between a bar graph and a pie chart.

Aspect	Bar Graph	Pie Chart
Representation	Rectangular bars	Circle divided into sections
Data Comparison	Used to compare values among different items	Used to show the composition of a whole
Width and Height of Items	Rectangular bars have the same width and height	Sections in a pie chart have varying widths and heights
Data Types	Typically used for discrete data	Typically used for categorical or percentage data
Scale	Can represent both positive and negative values	Typically represents positive values
Axes	Typically has two axes (horizontal and vertical) for labelling and scaling	No axes; labels are placed within or outside the pie slices
Data Labels	Labels are usually placed above or within the bars	Labels are placed next to or inside each pie slice
Example	Bar graph showing sales of different products	Pie chart showing the distribution of expenses

Uses / Applications of Bar Graphs in Real-Life

Some of the most important applications of Bar Graph are:

• In education, they help students visualize and understand numerical data.
• Bar graphs are handy for businesses. They help with financial analysis, market research, and presenting data like quarterly sales, customer demographics, or product comparisons.
• In science, bar graphs are used to display and compare data from experiments or research studies.
• They effectively present survey results, including responses to different questions or options.
• They are used to display performance metrics in various fields, including sports, education, and business.
• Governments and organizations use bar graphs to report on data like population statistics, environmental data, etc.

Bar Graph Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of Bar Graph

• It represents the data in a graphical form, which is easier to understand.
• It helps in analysing the data at a glance.
• It displays each information separately which is easier to understand.
• It summarize a large data set in visual from.
• It displays relative data or proportion.

Disadvantages of Bar Graph

• It is easier to manipulate data and show false data analysis.
• It requires additional explanation to describe the Graph.

Bar Graph Examples

To understand Bar graphs, let’s solve some example questions on Bar Graph.

Example 1: Plot a Bar Graph for the following scenario:

Students	Weights(in Kg)
A	40
B	35
C	28
D	38
E	37

Solution: The graph can be represented as follows:

Bar Graph Example

Example 2: Plot a Bar graph for the following data:

Cities	Population( in Millions)
New Delhi	35
Noida	10
Mumbai	25
Jaipur	5
Gurgaon	12

Solution: The Bar Graph for the above data is as follows:

Bar Graph 2

Example 3: Plot the Bar Graph For the following Data:

Fruits	Classes (No. of students)
	A	B	C
Apple	22	18	20
Banana	16	20	15
Mango	20	25	30
Litchi	24	30	15

Solution: The Grouped Bar Graph of the above data are as follows:

Bar Graph 3

Example 4: In a School there are five sections in a class Who are interesting in cricket. 40 Students of section A , 35 Students of section B, 50 Students of section C, 30 Students of section D, 35 Students of section E are playing cricket. Plot the Bar Graph For the Above Data:

Solution: The Bar Graph of the above data are as follows:

Bar Graph 4

Bar Graph Questions

Here are some practice questions on Bar Graphs for you to solve on your own.

Q1: Make a Bar Graph for the following data.

Class	Number of Students
VI	40
VII	45
VIII	60
IX	40
X	40

Q2: Make a Bar Graph for the number of cars sold by different companies in 2021 and 2022

Car Company	2021	2022
Maruti	20000	25000
Tata	15000	17000
Volkswagen	12000	13000
Skoda	18000	20000
Honda	16000	19000

Q3: Make the Bar Graph for the marks obtained by a student in different subjects.

Subject	Marks Obtained
Maths	95
Science	88
English	90
Hindi	68
Social Science	75

Articles related to Bar Graph:
Statistics Fundamentals	Types of Graphs
Mean	Mode
Median	Z Table
Standard Deviation	Variance

Summary – Bar Graph

A bar graph, or bar chart, is a visual tool used to display and compare data across different categories using rectangular bars. These bars can be oriented either vertically or horizontally, and their length or height represents the value of the data they display. This type of graph helps make data clear and straightforward, allowing for easy comparison of different information. There are several types of bar graphs: vertical (commonly used when space is limited), horizontal (ideal for long category names), and grouped (which shows multiple data sets side by side for direct comparison). Key features of a bar graph include a title, axes with labels, and often a legend or scale to clarify the data. Creating a bar graph involves plotting the axes, labeling them, and then drawing the bars to reflect the data accurately. Bar graphs are preferred for their ability to neatly organize data, making it visually easy to interpret and compare various information points.

FAQs on Bar Graph

What is Bar Graph Definition?

Bar graph is the pictorial representation of the data present. It is a way to analyse the data in a pictorial format. Bar graphs are represented in Vertical or Horizontal rectangular bars, where the bars’ length represents the data’s growth.

What are the different types of Bar Graph?

There are three types of Bar Graph are :

• Horizontal Bar Graph
• Vertical Bar Graph
• Grouped Bar Graph

What is Simple Bar Graph?

Simple Bar Graph is the representation of single variable dataset in the form of bar graph. Let’s say there is a data of number of students in a school from class 1 to 10 then this is an example of single variable dataset as there is only one variable which is the number of students. Representing this type of dataset will result in simple bar graph.

What is Clustered Bar Graph?

A clustered bar graph is the one in which the bar representation of different dataset is placed in adjacent manner. Clustered Bar Graph is also called Grouped Bar Graph.

What is Multiple Bar Graph?

A multiple bar graph is one in which bar graph is drawn for multiple variables. Suppose we have production data of wheat, rice and sugarcane for years 2018-2023. Then in each year we have three variables wheat, rice and sugarcane. When we plot this data in the form of Bar Graph we will obtain a multiple bar graph.

How do you Draw a Bar Graph?

To draw a bar graph we have to take the data type on x-axis and scaling on y-axis and then draw the bar for each data type by extending the bar according to the given data and scaling adopted on y-axis. The detailed steps of drawing a bar graph is discussed in the article above.

What is Difference Between Bar Graph and Histogram?

A bar graph is plotted for discrete data set while a histogram is plotted for continuous data set. In bar graph, the width of the bars are same and also there is equal spacing between them. However in Histogram, the width of the bars are different due to their frequency and there is no spacing between them.

What is the importance of Bar Graph?

Bar graphs are important because they provide a clear and straightforward visual representation of data. Their simplicity in design helps in quick interpretation and analysis of trends, making them a valuable tool.

Why is it called a bar graph?

A bar graph is named after the bars that represent the data. The graph uses rectangular bars to visually display and compare different categories or groups of data.