Barcelona Field Studies Centre

Triangular or Ternary Graph Creator

Our Triangular or Ternary Graph maker enables raw data for three associated variables or components to be plotted in a two-dimensional triangular (or ternary) graph. The three variables are automatically converted to percentage values.

A triangular graph contains three axes. Each axis is divided into 100, representing percentages. From each 100-0% axis, lines are drawn at angles of 60 degrees to carry the values.

Enter your data sets in the calculator below. Click the 'Calculate' followed by 'Create Triangular Graph' buttons and your triangular graph will open in a new window. A menu appears above the graph offering several options, including downloading an image. Hover over the plots to display the data.

Geographers often use triangular graphs to show changes in employment structure. For example, sector employment in the UK for 1800 and 2000 shown in the table below can be plotted on the graph to display structural changes over time through changing plot positions. In this example, the raw data has already been processed into percentages.

UK Employment Structure % Primary % Secondary % Tertiary (and Quaternary)
1800 70 20 10
2000 10 30 60

Triangular Graph Maker












Triangular graph example

How to construct a triangular graph