Difference Between Bar Graph and Column Graph

Bar Graph vs Column Graph

Graphs are graphical means of presenting a summary of data. The properties included in a large data set can easily be recognized and detected by the use of a graph. Based on the type of data and the presentation method, many types of graphs are developed. Many became popular in the early 19th and 20th centuries, parallel to the technical advancement of the civilizations.

Bar graph is one of the main graphical representation methods in statistics. It is used to display the distinct values of the qualitative data on a horizontal axis and the relative frequencies (or frequencies or percentages) of those values on a vertical axis. A bar with its height/ length proportional to the relative frequency represent each distinct value, and bars are positioned in a way that they do not touch each other, unless they belong to the same category. A bar graph with the above configuration is the most common and is known as a vertical bar graph or a column graph. But it is also possible to interchange the axes; in that case the bars are horizontal.

The bar graph was first used in the 1786 book “The Commercial and Political Atlas” by William Playfair. Since then bar graph has become one of the most important tools in representing categorical data. Use of bar graphs can be extended to represent more complex categorical data, such as time developing variables (election response), grouped data and more.

A column chart/ graph is basically a bar graph with vertical bars.


A histogram is a special derivation of the column graph.

What is the difference between Bar graph and the Column Graph?

• A bar graph is a graphical representation of data inside two axes using rectangular shapes to indicate the magnitude of the variable. The length of the rectangle indicates the values of the variable at the considered case.

• The orientation of the bars can be either horizontal or vertical, but in the case of the vertical bars the graph is also called a column graph.