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Making a Pie Chart in Excel
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Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn how to make a pie chart in Excel.

This video illustrates the lesson material below. Watching the video is optional.

Creating a Pie Chart from a List of Numbers

Follow the steps below to create a pie chart:

  • Have a list of data in Excel. This data can be numbers or percentages. The pie chart will be a representation of the percentages of the data total.
  • Highlight the Data. Highlight the data that goes in the pie chart. Make sure to highlight both the labels and the numbers. Here is a list of different fruits and the number of each. Notice that they add up to a total of 50.

A table listing fruits in column A and quantities of each in column B. There are 5 watermelons, 20 pears, 15 apples, and 10 oranges.

Figure 1

  • Insert a Pie Chart. Select the Insert menu. Then look for a Pie chart option. If additional options appear, select the 2D Pie option. Note that the image below shows what this looks like on Microsoft 365 on a computer.

a screenshot illustrating the steps just explained.

Figure 2

Excel will automatically create a pie chart for you. You can adjust the size by pushing and pulling on the sides of the chart. You can also edit the appearance of the chart using the menu bar at the top or by double-clicking on different parts of the chart.
The original table with the new pie chart on the right of it

Figure 3

Notice that the pie wedges are not a representation of the numbers in the column, but the percentage of the total. Since the list of fruits adds up to 50, the wedges are the percentage calculated as the number divided by 50.

Creating a Pie Chart from a List of Percentages

Percent or percentage means “out of 100.” To ensure your pie chart is an accurate representation of the percentages, the percentages must add up to 100%.

Follow the same steps to create a pie chart of percentages:

  • Have a list of data in Excel. This data can be numbers or percentages. The pie chart will be a representation of the percentages of the data total.
  • Highlight the Data. Highlight the data that goes in the pie chart. Make sure to highlight both the labels and the percentages. Here is a list of different colors and the percentages of each. Notice that they add up to a total of 100%.

Table showing favorite color in one column and percent of the population in another. Blue=30%, Green=11%, Red=13%, Yellow=9%, Orange=3%, Purple=17%, Pink=15%, Other=2%. A pie chart on the right of the table illustrates these percentages.

Figure 4

  • Insert a Pie Chart. This pie chart can be adjusted in the same ways described in the previous section.

image of data table and pie chart with title: Percent of Population, in a spreadsheet. Table headings: Favorite Color (column B, cell B2) and Percent of Population (column C, cell C2). The data in cells B3 through C10 give percentages of population for each color as follows: Blue=30%, Green=11%, Red=13%, Yellow=9%, Orange=3%, Purple=17%, Pink=15%, Other=2%. The following colored pie pieces represent the data in the table: Blue=Blue (30%), Orange=Green (11%), Grey=Red (13%), Yellow=Yellow (9%), light blue=Orange (3%), Green=Purple (17%), Dark blue=Pink (15%), Red=Other (2%).

Figure 5

This list of percentages adds up to 100%, so the pie chart is an accurate representation of the percentages. If they didn’t add up to 100%, then the wedges of the pie chart would be different than the percentages listed.

Things to Remember


  • A pie chart shows the percentage of items compared to the total.
  • Percent or percentage means "out of 100."
  • If the total number of items represented in a pie chart do not equal 100, the value of the wedge will be different than the percentage it represents.

Need More Help?


  1. Study other Math Lessons in the Resource Center.
  2. Visit the Online Tutoring Resources in the Resource Center.
  3. Contact your Instructor.
  4. If you still need help, Schedule a Tutor.
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