Create a Map in Power BI

Power BI Maps help you to visualize the geological data. Let us see the step-by-step approach to creating a Map with a practical example.

For the Map demo, we used the World Population Excel data file that we downloaded from the Data bank. Please visit Connect to Excel to learn the steps included in working with Excel.

How to Create a Map in Power BI

Dropping any geographic data into the Canvas area automatically creates a Map. For instance, let me drag and drop the Country Names available in the world Population table to the Canvas.

From the following screenshot, you can notice that the Power BI desktop has created a map for you.

Create a Map in Power BI 1

Next, drag and release the Population of the year 2016 from the Power BI Fields region to the Legend section. Hover over any bubble to see the country it represents and the country’s population.

Create a Map in Power BI 2

Create a Map in Power BI using Visualization

First, under the Visualization section, click on Map. It automatically creates a map with model data, as shown in the screenshot below.

Create a Map in Power BI 3

To add data to a Map in Power BI, we should add the required fields:

  • Location: Please provide the name of the Geological Column that draws the Bubbles.
  • Legend: Column name that subdivides the data in the Location section. Something similar to a Country, Region, Territory, or Continent
  • Latitude and Longitude: If the data contains the latitude and longitude information, you can use them to retrieve the exact location.
  • Size: Define the Column that describes the Bubble size.
  • Color Saturation: Any Numerical data that decides the map bubble’s color.

Let me drag the State from the Fields area to the Location Section. You can achieve this by dragging the State column to the Location section or checking the State column.

Please add the Sales Amount to the Size section. Now, you recognize the size difference in the bubbles. Next, let me add Country Name to the Tooltip section. After this, if you hover over any bubble, it will show you the Country, State, and Sales Amount information.

Let me add the Country Name to the Legend section. As you can see, the color of the bubbles is changed based on the country they represent.

To demonstrate the Color Saturation section of a Power BI map, we added the Order Quantity to the Color Saturation section. From the below screenshot, the color of each circle has changed as per the Order Quantity. Remember, you can’t use the Legend and Color Saturation simultaneously.

Let me do some quick formatting to this Map. I suggest you refer to the Format Map article to understand the formatting options.