Chart Axis Labels
Axis labels and titles should make the chart’s scale, categories, and units immediately understandable without repeating metadata already stated elsewhere in the chart.
Label chart axes with the information readers need to interpret the scale, especially units. Avoid duplicating the title/subtitle, and do not add an axis title when the categories or dates already make the axis self-explanatory.
Key details
Important caveats
Category Boundary
An axis that already shows self-explanatory categories or dates may not need a separate axis title; label only what helps interpretation.
Further guidance
Numeric Labels
For percentages or currency, include the relevant symbol directly in numeric axis labels when that is the governing chart convention.
Units
Use an axis title for the unit of measurement when readers need it, while avoiding repetition of information already clear from the title or subtitle.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Chart details: Chart text — ONS Service Manual (opens in a new tab)Office for National Statistics · Chart titles, subtitles, alternative text, figure numbering, data sources, axis titles and axis number labels