A bar chart is a chart with rectangular bars with lengths proportional to the values that they represent.  One axis of the chart shows the specific categories being compared, and the other axis represents a discrete value.

Bar charts provide a visual presentation of categorical data. Categorical data is a grouping of data into discrete groups, such as months of the year, age group, shoe sizes, and animals. These categories are usually qualitative. Bars on the chart may be arranged in any order.

The horizontal bar chart is the same as a column chart or a vertical bar chart only the x-axis and y-axis are switched. Horizontal bar charts have some advantages compared to the vertical bar charts: Labels are easier to display and with a big dataset they tend to work better in a narrow layout such as mobile view.