Seaborn Histogram For Understanding Data Distributions

Data visualization is an important issue of information analysis, and histograms are powerful tools for distributing numerical information. Seaborn, a popular Python facts visualization library, gives a clean and fashionable way to create visually appealing histograms. This weblog will explore Seaborn histogram, learn how to create them, customize their appearance, and showcase real-world examples in their software.

How to Create Seaborn Histograms

Before diving into Seaborn, make sure you have got Python established together with the required libraries – Seaborn, matplotlib, and NumPy. If you haven’t hooked them up, you could achieve this with the use of a pip:

pip install seaborn matplotlib numpy

Once you have everything set up, you can begin by importing the necessary libraries:

import seaborn as sns

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

Now, let’s learn how to create a basic Seaborn histogram using the `sns.histplot()` function:

# Sample data (replace this with your dataset)

data = [1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9]

# Create a Seaborn histogram

sns.histplot(data, kde=False, color='skyblue')

# Set the labels and title

plt.xlabel('Value')

plt.ylabel('Frequency')

plt.title('Basic Seaborn Histogram')

plt.show()

OUTPUT:

The `kde=False` parameter removes the kernel density estimation curve, leaving only the histogram bars. Adjust the `colour` parameter to change the plot’s colour to your preference.

Customizing Seaborn Histograms

Seaborn allows you to customize your histograms to make them more informative and visually appealing. You can modify the number of bins, add a kernel density estimate, change colours, and more.

Adjusting the Number of Bins

The number of bins in a histogram affects the granularity of the distribution representation. You can control the number of bins by specifying the `bins` parameter:

# Create a Seaborn histogram with 10 bins

sns.histplot(data, bins=10, color='green')

# Set the labels and title

plt.xlabel('Value')

plt.ylabel('Frequency')

plt.title('Histogram with 10 Bins')

plt.show()

OUTPUT:

Adding Kernel Density Estimate (KDE)

Kernel density estimation is a non-parametric way to estimate the probability density function of a continuous random variable. You can enable KDE in Seaborn like this:

# Create a Seaborn histogram with KDE

sns.histplot(data, kde=True, color='orange')

# Set the labels and title

plt.xlabel('Value')

plt.ylabel('Density')

plt.title('Histogram with Kernel Density Estimate')

plt.show()

OUTPUT:

Changing Colors

Seaborn provides a range of colour palettes that you can use to customize the histogram’s appearance. You can use the `palette` parameter to select a palette:

# Create a Seaborn histogram with a different colour palette

sns.histplot(data, kde=False, palette='magma')

# Set the labels and title

plt.xlabel('Value')

plt.ylabel('Frequency')

plt.title('Histogram with a Different Color Palette')

plt.show()

OUTPUT:

Adjusting the Histogram’s Aesthetics

You can modify the appearance of the histogram using various Seaborn parameters, such as `linewidth`, `edge colour`, `alpha`, and more:

# Create a Seaborn histogram with customized aesthetics

sns.histplot(data, kde=False, color='purple', linewidth=1, edgecolor='black', alpha=0.7)

# Set the labels and title

plt.xlabel('Value')

plt.ylabel('Frequency')

plt.title('Histogram with Customized Aesthetics')

plt.show()

OUTPUT:

Examples of Seaborn Histograms

Now that you have a grasp of creating and customizing Seaborn histograms let’s explore some practical examples that demonstrate the significance of this visualization technique.

Visualizing Age Distribution in a Dataset

Suppose you have a dataset containing information about individuals, including their ages. You can create a histogram to observe the age distribution:

# Sample age data (replace this with your dataset)

ages = [22, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 38, 40, 42, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70]

# Create a Seaborn histogram with customized aesthetics

sns.histplot(ages, bins=10, kde=True, color='teal')

# Set the labels and title

plt.xlabel('Age')

plt.ylabel('Density')

plt.title('Age Distribution')

plt.show()

OUTPUT:

This histogram allows you to identify the most common age group and observe the overall age distribution of the dataset.

Analyzing Exam Scores

Suppose you have the scores of a group of students in an exam, and you want to understand their performance. A histogram can be helpful in this scenario:

# Sample exam scores data (replace this with your dataset)

exam_scores = [60, 75, 80, 85, 90, 92, 95, 98, 98, 100, 100, 100]

# Create a Seaborn histogram with a different colour palette

sns.histplot(exam_scores, bins=5, kde=True, palette='rocket')

# Set the labels and title

plt.xlabel('Score')

plt.ylabel('Density')

plt.title('Exam Scores Distribution')

plt.show()

OUTPUT:

This histogram shows how many students scored within different ranges, giving you insights into their performance.

The Benefits of Using Seaborn Histograms

Seaborn histograms offer several advantages that make them a popular choice for visualizing data distributions:

User-Friendly Syntax: Seaborn provides a simple and intuitive syntax, making it easy for beginners and experienced Python users to create informative histograms.

Stunning Visuals: Seaborn’s default styles and colour palettes result in visually appealing histograms that can be used directly for presentations and reports.

Customization Options: Seaborn offers a wide range of customization options, allowing users to tailor the histograms to specific preferences and requirements.

Clear Data Insights: Histograms help understand data distributions, identify outliers, and recognize patterns that might not be evident in raw data.

Enhanced Interactivity: Seaborn histograms offer enhanced data exploration capabilities when combined with Jupyter notebooks or interactive plotting environments.

Conclusion

Histograms are indispensable tools for exploring and understanding data distributions, and Seaborn simplifies the process of creating visually appealing and informative histograms. In this blog post, we learned how to create Seaborn histograms, customize their appearance, and see practical examples of their application. By leveraging the power of Seaborn histograms, data analysts and scientists can gain valuable insights from their data, making informed decisions and discoveries.

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