Map Chart Race Maker
Create animated world maps from your data. Watch country values shift across decades — patents, GDP, emissions, populations. Combine the map with a bar chart race or table on the same canvas. Free to start — no coding required.
Top Countries by Patent Applications
Built in Alien Art — map chart race combined with a bar chart race on a single canvas. Clone it as your starting point.
Everything You Need for a Viral Map Chart Race
Designed for creators, journalists, and analysts who want pro results without writing a line of code.
Three steps. Around five minutes from spreadsheet to share-ready video.
Import Data
CSV, Excel, or paste from Wikipedia. Long format with rank-by-period works best.
Customize Design
Pick colors, fonts, bar style, speed, and add images, flags, or your channel logo.
Export Video
Render at up to 60fps in MP4, WebM, or transparent WebP. Post anywhere.
What Is a Map Chart Race?
A map chart race is an animated world map where countries change color, intensity, or value over time, showing how a metric evolves geographically across a time series.
Each frame of the animation represents one period — a year, quarter, decade, whatever step your data uses — and countries shift between color values as the underlying numbers change. Smooth transitions between frames make geographic shifts immediately legible: which countries are rising, which are falling, where new clusters of activity appear.
Map chart races work best when paired with a bar chart race or ranking table on the same canvas. The map shows where; the bar shows how much. Together they answer both questions at once. The Soviet Union dominating patent filings until 1991, then the US and Japan trading the lead, then China overtaking everyone — that’s a story a static chart can’t tell.
Common map chart race use cases include patent applications by country, GDP rankings, CO2 emissions, population growth, COVID case counts, military spending, internet penetration, Olympic medal counts, and election results across decades. Anywhere country-level data has a time dimension, a map chart race makes the geography of change instantly visible.
Traditionally, building one required D3.js with TopoJSON, Python with GeoPandas, or expensive motion-graphics software. Alien Art removes the coding step entirely — upload a CSV with country names or ISO codes, pick a color scale, and export a 60fps MP4 you can drop straight into a YouTube video, Reel, or TikTok.
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated
How do I make a map chart race for free?
Sign up for Alien Art free, import a CSV or Excel file (or paste data from Wikipedia), pick a map chart race template, choose your map projection, and click Export. The free plan lets you render videos up to 3 minutes long with 30 minutes of monthly export budget at 30 fps in MP4. No credit card required to get started.
What kind of map data does it support?
Country-level data is supported out of the box — one row per country with one or more numeric columns measured across time periods. The map shades each country by its current value and updates smoothly between frames. You can pair the map with a bar chart race or table on the same canvas to show ranked values alongside the geographic view.
What data format do I need?
A row per country with a numeric column for each time period (year, month, etc.). Country names or ISO codes both work. Alien Art accepts CSV, XLSX, pasted Wikipedia tables, and direct manual entry. Missing values are interpolated automatically.
Can I combine a map with a bar chart race?
Yes — the map chart race can sit alongside a bar chart race or ranking table on the same canvas, sharing the same data. The map shows where, the bar shows how much. Most viral patent, GDP, and emissions videos use this combination.
Can I export as MP4 video?
Yes. Free exports MP4 at 30 fps. Pro exports MP4, WebM, and transparent WebP at up to 60 fps with no watermark and unlimited monthly minutes — ideal for YouTube, Shorts, Reels, and TikTok.
Can I use map chart race videos commercially?
Yes — on monetized YouTube channels, TikTok, client work, presentations, even broadcast TV. Many news, geography, and history creators publish map chart race videos rendered with Alien Art.
Make Your Map Chart Race Now
Free to start. No install. Export an MP4 you can post on YouTube, TikTok, or X in the next few minutes.