plotly Bubble Chart in Python (3 Examples)

Hi! This tutorial will show you how to build a bubble chart in plotly in the Python programming language.

Here is an overview:

1) Install & Import plotly

2) Create Sample Dataset

3) Example 1: Build Basic Bubble Chart

4) Example 2: Create Faceted Bubble Charts

5) Example 3: Adjust Bubble Chart Opacity

6) Video, Further Resources & Summary

Let’s get into the Python code!

Install & Import plotly

In order to install and import the Python plotly library, run the lines of code below in your preferred Python programming IDE:

# install plotly
pip install plotly
 
# import plotly
import plotly.express as px

With plotly installed and imported into our Python environment, we can now use its plot-building functions.
First, though, we will need to create a sample dataset that we will visualize.

Create Sample Dataset

We will make use of the gapminder dataset, which comes preloaded in the plotly library.

Therefore, run the lines of code below to load and preview the first 10 rows of the dataset:

df = px.data.gapminder()
 
df.head(10)
 
#         country  continent	year	lifeExp	   pop	     gdpPercap	  iso_alpha	iso_num
#0	Afghanistan	Asia	1952	28.801	8425333	     779.445314	        AFG	4
#1	Afghanistan	Asia	1957	30.332	9240934	     820.853030	        AFG	4
#2	Afghanistan	Asia	1962	31.997	10267083     853.100710	        AFG	4
#3	Afghanistan	Asia	1967	34.020	11537966     836.197138	        AFG	4
#4	Afghanistan	Asia	1972	36.088	13079460     739.981106	        AFG	4
#5	Afghanistan	Asia	1977	38.438	14880372     786.113360 	AFG	4
#6	Afghanistan	Asia	1982	39.854	12881816     978.011439 	AFG	4
#7	Afghanistan	Asia	1987	40.822	13867957     852.395945 	AFG	4
#8	Afghanistan	Asia	1992	41.674	16317921     649.341395 	AFG	4
#9	Afghanistan	Asia	1997	41.763	22227415     635.341351 	AFG	4

Now that we have loaded the sample dataset, we can go on to build our bubble chart.

Example 1: Build Basic Bubble Chart

In this first example, we will build a basic bubble chart:

fig = px.scatter(df.query("year==2002"), x="gdpPercap", y="lifeExp",
	         size="pop", color="continent",
                 hover_name="country", log_x=True, size_max=60)
 
fig.show()

In the above example, we first filter the DataFrame (df) to select only the data for the year 2002.

Then, we plot the GDP per capita (gdpPercap) on the x-axis against life expectancy (lifeExp) on the y-axis.

The size of each data point is determined by the population (pop) and is color-coded by continent (continent).

Additionally, when hovering over a point, the plot displays the name of the country (country).

The log_x = True parameter means that the x-axis will be displayed on a logarithmic scale.

Finally, we use fig.show() to display the scatter plot.

Example 2: Create Faceted Bubble Charts

In this second example, we will turn the plot into a facet plot:

fig = px.scatter(df.query("year==2002"), x="gdpPercap", y="lifeExp",
	         size="pop", color="continent",facet_col = "continent",
                 hover_name="country", log_x=False, size_max=60)
 
fig.show()

Here, we simply introduced and defined the facet_col = argument as the continent column in the DataFrame in the px.scatter() method to create the facet plot.

Now, the data for each continent has been separated in different facets, which makes it easier for analysis.

Example 3: Adjust Bubble Chart Opacity

In this last example, we will adjust the opacity of the plot:

fig = px.scatter(df.query("year==2002"), x="gdpPercap", y="lifeExp",
	         size="pop", color="continent",opacity = 0.3,
                 hover_name="country", log_x=True, size_max=60)
 
fig.show()

Again, like in the last example, we only introduced and defined the opacity = argument in the px.scatter() method. We set the opacity to 0.3, which reduced the color intensity of the plot markers.

The opacity value is always between 0 and 1. Feel free to play with this parameter until you get the ideal setting for your use case.

Video, Further Resources & Summary

Do you need more explanations on how to build plotly bubble charts in Python? Then you should have a look at the following YouTube video of the Statistics Globe YouTube channel.

In the video, we explain in some more detail how to build plotly bubble charts in Python.

The YouTube video will be added soon.

You can check out these other articles for more detailed examples and videos of these popular charts in plotly using the Python programming language:

This post has shown how to build plotly bubble charts in Python. There are other parameters in the px.scatter() method that can be used to further customize the appearance of the bubble chart. You may take a look at the documentation for more detail.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful! In case you have further questions, you may leave a comment below.

This page was created in collaboration with Ifeanyi Idiaye. You might check out Ifeanyi’s personal author page to read more about his academic background and the other articles he has written for the Statistics Globe website.