Pixel Map

A world map drawn as a grid of dots, each colored by its country's approximate median age: the older the population, the darker.

  • Try it:
  • Point at a country for its median age
  • Drag sideways to turn the map
Get the code JavaScript JSON
About this map

When a pixel map works

A pixel series draws each country as a grid of dots, squares, hexagons or diamonds in the country's color, so heat rules, hover and tooltips work as on a plain map. It trades exact borders for a clean, poster-like look. Set columnHeight and the pixels rise into 3D columns; a second heat rule sets each country's height.

Good for

  • Infographics, posters and slides
  • One value per country, seen at a glance
  • Landing pages that want a map with character

Think twice when

  • Small countries: they get a few pixels, or none
  • Exact values: columns are hard to compare, add a table or a bar chart
  • Borders that matter: a polygon map draws them exactly
For developers

Get the code.

Built with amCharts 5, a JavaScript library. The JavaScript includes your theme and renderer (canvas or SVG); the JSON also follows the changes you make with the controls.

Docs:Map chartMap polygon seriesHeat rules
// Create root element
// https://www.amcharts.com/docs/v5/getting-started/#Root_element
var root = am5.Root.new("chartdiv");

// Set themes
// https://www.amcharts.com/docs/v5/concepts/themes/
root.setThemes([
  am5themes_Animated.new(root),
  am5themes_Responsive.new(root)
]);

// Colors from the theme, so the map follows the theme
var colors = am5.ColorSet.new(root, {});

// Create the map chart
// https://www.amcharts.com/docs/v5/charts/map-chart/
var chart = root.container.children.push(am5map.MapChart.new(root, {
  minZoomLevel: 0.5, // can zoom out to half the size of the fitted map
  // go to the home view once the map is fitted
  autoHome: true,
  projection: am5map.geoEqualEarth(), // Equal Earth keeps the countries' true sizes against each other
  panX: "rotateX",                    // a sideways drag turns the world around, so the map wraps
  panY: "translateY"                  // an up-down drag moves the map
}));

// Zoom control
// https://www.amcharts.com/docs/v5/charts/map-chart/map-pan-zoom/#Zoom_control
var zoomControl = chart.set("zoomControl", am5map.ZoomControl.new(root, {}));

// the home button is hidden by default
zoomControl.homeButton.set("visible", true);

// Create series for the water: a faint fill behind the countries
// https://www.amcharts.com/docs/v5/charts/map-chart/map-polygon-series/#Background_polygon
var waterSeries = chart.series.push(am5map.MapPolygonSeries.new(root, {
  // the map fits the countries, not this rectangle around the whole world
  affectsBounds: false
}));

waterSeries.mapPolygons.template.setAll({
  fill: root.interfaceColors.get("alternativeBackground"), // the theme's contrast color, dark on light
  fillOpacity: 0.05, // at 5%, only a faint tint
  strokeOpacity: 0 // no outline
});

waterSeries.data.push({
  geometry: am5map.getGeoRectangle(90, 180, -90, -180) // north, east, south and west edges: the whole world
});

// Create the pixel series: each country drawn as a grid of dots, 2 degrees
// apart. columnHeight raises the dots into 3D columns; 0 keeps them flat
var pixelSeries = chart.series.push(am5map.PixelMapSeries.new(root, {
  geoJSON: am5geodata_worldLow, // the world's countries, low detail
  pixelType: "circle",          // round dots (or "square", "diamond", "hexagon")
  step: 2,
  pixelSize: 0.8,               // each dot 80% of the step, so there's a gap between them
  // every other row shifted by half a pixel, like bricks
  stagger: true,
  // the same number of pixels in every row, so they line up across the map
  equalArea: false,
  columnHeight: 0,
  valueField: "value",
  // works out the lowest and highest values, which the heat rules need
  calculateAggregates: true
}));

pixelSeries.mapPolygons.template.setAll({
  fill: root.interfaceColors.get("disabled"), // countries with no data stay gray
  tooltipText: "{name}: {value} years"        // {name} and {value} come from the map and the data
});

// Countries that are not in the data say so
pixelSeries.mapPolygons.template.adapters.add("tooltipText", function(text, target) {
  return target.dataItem.get("value") == null ? "{name}: no data" : text;
});

// Color the countries by value, and set the height of their columns
// https://www.amcharts.com/docs/v5/concepts/settings/heat-rules/
pixelSeries.set("heatRules", [{
  target: pixelSeries.mapPolygons.template,
  dataField: "value",
  min: am5.Color.lighten(colors.getIndex(0), 0.6), // the youngest: a light shade of the first theme color
  max: am5.Color.brighten(colors.getIndex(0), -0.5), // the oldest: a dark shade of it
  key: "fill"
}, {
  target: pixelSeries.mapPolygons.template,
  dataField: "value",
  min: 0.1, // the youngest country's columns are 10% of columnHeight...
  max: 1,   // ...and the oldest ones full height
  key: "pixelHeight"
}]);

// Set data: approximate median age, in years (rounded estimates for this example)
pixelSeries.data.setAll([
  { id: "US", value: 38 },
  { id: "CA", value: 41 },
  { id: "MX", value: 29 },
  { id: "BR", value: 33 },
  { id: "AR", value: 32 },
  { id: "CO", value: 31 },
  { id: "PE", value: 31 },
  { id: "VE", value: 30 },
  { id: "CL", value: 35 },
  { id: "BO", value: 26 },
  { id: "GB", value: 40 },
  { id: "FR", value: 42 },
  { id: "DE", value: 46 },
  { id: "IT", value: 47 },
  { id: "ES", value: 45 },
  { id: "PT", value: 46 },
  { id: "PL", value: 41 },
  { id: "RO", value: 43 },
  { id: "GR", value: 46 },
  { id: "SE", value: 41 },
  { id: "NO", value: 40 },
  { id: "FI", value: 43 },
  { id: "UA", value: 41 },
  { id: "RU", value: 39 },
  { id: "TR", value: 32 },
  { id: "KZ", value: 31 },
  { id: "IR", value: 32 },
  { id: "IQ", value: 21 },
  { id: "SA", value: 32 },
  { id: "AF", value: 18 },
  { id: "PK", value: 23 },
  { id: "IN", value: 28 },
  { id: "BD", value: 28 },
  { id: "CN", value: 38 },
  { id: "MN", value: 28 },
  { id: "JP", value: 48 },
  { id: "KR", value: 44 },
  { id: "MM", value: 29 },
  { id: "TH", value: 40 },
  { id: "VN", value: 32 },
  { id: "PH", value: 26 },
  { id: "ID", value: 30 },
  { id: "AU", value: 38 },
  { id: "EG", value: 24 },
  { id: "LY", value: 29 },
  { id: "DZ", value: 29 },
  { id: "MA", value: 30 },
  { id: "SD", value: 20 },
  { id: "ML", value: 16 },
  { id: "NE", value: 15 },
  { id: "TD", value: 17 },
  { id: "NG", value: 18 },
  { id: "ET", value: 19 },
  { id: "KE", value: 20 },
  { id: "TZ", value: 18 },
  { id: "CD", value: 17 },
  { id: "AO", value: 17 },
  { id: "MZ", value: 18 },
  { id: "MG", value: 20 },
  { id: "ZA", value: 28 }
]);

// Make stuff animate on load
// https://www.amcharts.com/docs/v5/concepts/animations/
chart.appear(1000, 100);

More Maps.

All Maps demosAll demos
US Heat (Choropleth) Map Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs Map Globe with Projected Circles Map with Patterns

More map tools.

SVG Map Generator
Any region, any projection
Pick a map and projection, simplify it and paint regions, then export SVG or PNG.
Pixel Map Generator
Dotted and pixel-art maps
Turn any map into dots, squares, hexagons or diamonds for posters and slides.
SVG Maps
430 maps, free to download
World, continents, countries and regions, with every region as its own named path.