pgfplots with percentage on the axis

Question

I am trying to draw a graph with percentage in x-axis and categories on y-axis. I cannot make the graph to show % sign. Here is my MWE:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}

\pagestyle{empty}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}
[
    axis lines*=left,
    title=Histogram of S\&P 500 CEOs Past Experience,
    xbar,
    width=8cm,
    height=5cm,
    xlabel={},
    symbolic y coords={Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations},
    ytick=data,
    xmin=0,
    xmax=0.5, 
    nodes near coords,
    nodes near coords align={horizontal}
    ]

  \addplot
[draw=blue,pattern=horizontal lines light blue] 
coordinates
     {(0.17,Sales)  (0.24,Marketing) (0.31,Finance) (0.42,Operations)};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

as you can see, I can make the graph with decimal number and ideally I'd like to have % sign. Any suggestion?

Answer 1

You can use point meta to perform the multiplication by 100 and

nodes near coords={\pgfmathprintnumber\pgfplotspointmeta\%}

to add the percentage sign:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}

\pagestyle{empty}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}
[
    axis lines*=left,
    title=Histogram of S\&P 500 CEOs Past Experience,
    xbar,
    width=8cm,
    height=5cm,
    xlabel={},
    symbolic y coords={Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations},
    ytick=data,
    xmin=0,
    xmax=0.5, 
    point meta={x*100},
    nodes near coords={\pgfmathprintnumber\pgfplotspointmeta\%},
    nodes near coords align={horizontal}
    ]
  \addplot
[draw=blue,pattern=horizontal lines light blue] 
coordinates
     {(0.17,Sales)  (0.24,Marketing) (0.31,Finance) (0.42,Operations)};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

If you also want this formatting for the x tick labels, then you can use

xticklabel={\pgfmathparse{\tick*100}\pgfmathprintnumber{\pgfmathresult}\%},

(no need to explicitly give the labels):

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}

\pagestyle{empty}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}
[
    axis lines*=left,
    title=Histogram of S\&P 500 CEOs Past Experience,
    xbar,
    width=8cm,
    height=5cm,
    xlabel={},
    symbolic y coords={Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations},
    ytick=data,
    xmin=0,
    xmax=0.5, 
    xticklabel={\pgfmathparse{\tick*100}\pgfmathprintnumber{\pgfmathresult}\%},
    point meta={x*100},
    nodes near coords={\pgfmathprintnumber\pgfplotspointmeta\%},
    nodes near coords align={horizontal},
    ]
  \addplot
[draw=blue,pattern=horizontal lines light blue] 
coordinates
     {(0.17,Sales)  (0.24,Marketing) (0.31,Finance) (0.42,Operations)};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

Answer 2

You can use xticklabel={\pgfmathprintnumber\tick\%}.:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}

\pagestyle{empty}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}
[
    axis lines*=left,
    title=Histogram of S \& P 500 CEOs Past Experience,
    xbar,
    width=8cm,
    height=5cm,
    xlabel={},
    symbolic y coords={Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations},
    ytick=data,
    xmin=0,
    xmax=100, 
    nodes near coords,
    nodes near coords align={horizontal},
    xtick={20,40,60,80,100},
    xticklabel=
{\pgfmathprintnumber\tick\%}
    ]

  \addplot
[draw=blue,pattern=horizontal lines light blue] 
coordinates
     {(17,Sales)  (24,Marketing) (31,Finance) (42,Operations)};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}