Sunburst chart

A sunburst chart shows hierarchical levels (dimensions) and the proportions (based on a selected measure) through a series of segmented rings:

• Hierarchy – The hierarchy starts from the central ring (the first dimension), moving outwards. The child elements are placed directly under their parent segment. The whole hierarchical group (parent and children) is differentiated by color. For example, the first ring represents years, the second ring represents quarters, and the third—months, where all the members belonging to one year have the same color.
• Proportions – The child elements are subdivided proportionally, where the whole ring represents 100% of the data. You can evaluate segments by length, but only within the same ring.

When to use

Use a sunburst chart to visualize hierarchical data that are parts of a whole. The categories on a chart must be mutually exclusive and not overlapping. For example, you can compare the profitability of a company’s product lines that include specific products. For better chart readability, use data with up to five categories that are represented by segments.

Data requirements

To build this chart, define the data fields as follows:

• Dimensions – Two and more dimensions that represent the hierarchical levels. Ensure that the dimensions are added in the correct order (the higher level first). For example, Year, Quarter, and Month.
• Measure – One measure.
• Tooltip – (Optional) One or more measures.

Use case

The following chart shows how the company’s planned profit is distributed per country (the first ring), where each country is subdivided into cities (the second ring). A country with its cities has the same color. All segments within a ring contribute as percentages to the whole 100% of the planned profit.

References

For details on how to customize your visualization, see Visualization settings.