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Why does S.Korea, and Brazil slope downwards even though they are increasing in %? Can someone explain how to read this graph?

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Profile picture of Cristian
edited on Oct 9, 2021
ex-McKinsey | Holistic approach | >400 clients coached

Hi there,

Basically the graph shows the % distribution of the countries. Try to not read the lines in the graph, but rather the volume. So that means that if in 100 ‘units’, Russia went from ~47 in 2006 to ~15 in 2010, that ‘space’ in the market is filled now by other countries such as S Korea, Brazil and China. Hope this makes sense. Best of luck!

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Profile picture of Pedro
Pedro
Coach
on Oct 8, 2021
BAIN | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Former Principal | FIT & PEI Expert

They are not the ones “going down”. Russia is becoming smaller (having lower % weight) and because those two stand immediately above Russia they also “seem” to be going down. 

What this graph says is that China, S.Korea and Brazil are replacing Russia as a supplier/producer/consumer.

If you reversed the countries order you would clearly see those three going up, with Russia becoming smaller.

Profile picture of Ian
Ian
Coach
on Oct 8, 2021
Ex-BCG | NYU Stern | MBB, Tech, & Strategy Coach | 5,000+ Sessions | 500+ Offers | 1,000+ Candidates | 100+ Countries

Hi there,

The chart is showing numbers out of a total 100%!

So, because Russia is losing so much %, Brazil and S Korea have to “fill” that spot.

If you read their percents, they are increasing, but they are next to a country that is decreasing. It's just how this chart works!

Profile picture of Antonello
on Oct 10, 2021
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 7+ years of coaching

Hi!

Other coaches already gave interesting insights!

Not much to add here.

Best,

Anto

Profile picture of Agrim
Agrim
Coach
on Oct 17, 2021
ELITE Prep | BCG Dubai Project Leader | Top Coach | 3hrs Case Mastery | 10y+ Consulting | Free Counselling

Because Russia's share is declining.

This is a percentage stacked area chart.

Percent Stacked Area Chart consists of several area series consecutively stacked on top of one another. Values along the Y axis range between 0 and 100%.

The height of each series in a Percent Stacked Area Chart is determined by its contribution to the sum of all values in a certain category (on the X axis).

Percent Stacked Area Charts are a great way to follow the variation of each of several variables simultaneously as well as their percentage ratio over time.