Where can I find Maps for PowerPoint?

Did you know PowerPoint 365 has maps?  PowerPoint World Maps are included in PowerPoint 365 - the maps are linked to Excel for easy customization and data overlays.  But the PowerPoint maps are not easy to find.  Maps are hidden in the Insert Charts feature.  Note that PowerPoint 365 is the subscription version of PowerPoint - if you purchased your version of PowerPoint outright, you may not have this feature.

The PowerPoint Maps Chart is great for data overlay slides, but may be a bit over complicated if you want a simple map illustration to use as a slide background or for a country overview slides.  If you're looking for Map illustrations in PowerPoint (rather than Map Charts), we recommend PPT Productivity's Slide Library. PPT Productivity is a timesaving addin for PowerPoint.  The Slide Library includes maps for each region of the world along with 2000+ other downloadable shapes, slides and templates.  To see the full list of PPT Productivity maps for PowerPoint and the other downloadable shapes and slides, you can find out more in our Downloadable templates and shapes post.

How to find Map Charts in PowerPoint

To find the maps in PowerPoint 365, navigate to the Insert tab on the PowerPoint ribbon.  Click on Insert > Chart  and about mid way down the list of chart types you will see Map.  Click Map and it will display a world map, called Filled Map chart.  

Select the Filled Map and click ok. This will insert the map into your PowerPoint presentation. 

This is an editable world map for PowerPoint. Once the map is inserted into your presentation, the Chart Design tab will display on the PowerPoint ribbon. The chart design tab provides you with the options to change map colors, update the layout or to edit the data. The map is linked back to Excel which gives you some powerful customization options.   

You can also use the format data series to select different map projections. PowerPoint map projection options include Automatic, Mercator, Miller or Robinson.

How can I find country maps in PowerPoint?

By default the PowerPoint Map Chart will show a World Map. However, you can edit the data series in the Excel sheet to delete countries or to only show one or more selected countries. You are not limited to the list that displays by default. Simply delete the countries showing in the list, and enter the country you would like to display.

In the example below we have deleted all other countries and entered Australia. Updating the Map Area Series Option in the Format Data Series toolbar to select 'Only regions with data' enlarges the map of the selected country.