Pie and Donut Charts

Pie charts show how parts contribute to a whole. While often overused, they can be effective for simple comparisons with few categories.

Basic Pie Chart

Exploded Pie Chart

Emphasize specific segments:

Donut Chart

A pie chart with a hole in the center:

Nested Donut Chart

Show hierarchical data:

When NOT to Use Pie Charts

Pie Chart Best Practices

Practice: Create a Budget Donut Chart

Key Takeaways

• Pie charts show part-to-whole relationships
• Best used with 3-5 categories with clear size differences
• Use explode to emphasize specific slices
• Create donuts with wedgeprops=dict(width=value)
• Add center text in donuts for key metrics
• Consider bar charts for precise comparisons or many categories
• Always start from 12 o'clock (startangle=90) for easier reading

In the next lesson, we'll explore creating subplots to combine multiple charts.