Summary

Pie charts are one of the simplest chart types in Excel, good for showing "part-to-whole" relationships with data in a small number of categories. Pie charts get a lot of criticism in the professional data visualization world, but they are compact and effective when the number of categories is small (2-5) and the relative size of each category is clear. In this example, a pie chart is used to plot the results of the survey question "What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?".

The data used for this pie chart is below:

Data used in this pie chart

Note data does not include percentage breakdown — this is handled directly in the chart.

How to make this chart

  1. Select the data, then Insert > Pie chart on the ribbon:
    Select the data, then Insert > Pie chart on the ribbon
  2. Chose the first 2D pie option:
    Select first 2d pie chart option
  3. Initial chart after insert:
    Initial chart after insert
  4. Select and delete the legend
  5. Add data labels:
    Add data labels to pie chart
  6. Select data labels, and set display to show category name and percentage with a new line separator:
    Format data labels to show category name and percentage
  7. Set data label text to white (if desired)
  8. Final chart with title:
    Final chart after editing title
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AuthorMicrosoft Most Valuable Professional Award

Dave Bruns

Hi - I'm Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.