Choropleth map | the R Graph Gallery

Choropleth map with ggplot2

ggplot2 is my favourite way to make a static choropleth map. In this post I show how to load geoJSON geographical data, link it with a numeric variable and plot it as a choropleth. Another advantage of this method is that it allows to quickly transform your map in an interactive version with plotly (see further).

Choropleth with ggplot2

This post is a step by step description on how to build a choropleth map with R and ggplot2.

Choropleth map in base R

No specific library is needed to build a choropleth map once the geospatial object is loaded in R. The examples below explain how to build a color palette and attribute a color to each region, according to its numeric value.

Load geospatial data

Start by loading your geospatial data in R, and build a basic plot.

Choropleth with base R

Learn how to build a color palette and use it to color each region of the map according to its value.

Interactive choropleth map with leaflet

The leaflet package allows to build interactive map directly from R. On the following choropleth map it is possible to zoom and hover a country to gets more details about it. Read the tutorial.

Code

Choropleth map with the cartography package.

Data from the package

The cartography comes with a set of geospatial data included. Learn how to use it to build a choropleth map.

Data from the package

The cartography comes with a set of geospatial data included. Learn how to use it to build a choropleth map.

Data from the package

The cartography comes with a set of geospatial data included. Learn how to use it to build a choropleth map.