The rectangular cartogram is a geospatial visualization method that blends the characteristics of maps and charts. By simplifying geographic regions into rectangles and using the area of each rectangle to represent statistical data, it enables efficient geovisualization. This paper summarizes and analyzes the advantages and limitations of two main approaches used in current rectangular cartogram construction algorithms. To address the issues of high computational cost and inadequate preservation of adjacency and relative positional relationships in existing algorithms, we propose and implement a new rectangular cartogram construction algorithm. This algorithm simplifies the layout computation process while ensuring that the adjacency and relative positional relationships between regions during the layout generation process have only minor errors. In adjusting rectangle areas to match attribute values, the algorithm adopts a “region-by-region placement” strategy, ensuring that errors in area accuracy remain within a small range, while also keeping errors in adjacency and relative positional relationships minimal. Finally, by comparing the results of our algorithm with those of existing algorithms using real-world data with varying distribution characteristics, we demonstrate its effectiveness. The results show that the proposed algorithm not only improves computational efficiency but also effectively displays the adjacency and relative positional relationships between regions.

As the diversity and complexity of geographic statistical data continue to increase, it becomes increasingly important to present multi-level information in order to meet a broader range of needs. In response to the limitations of existing visualization methods in representing the geographic distribution of statistical data, this paper proposes a geographical hierarchical data visualization method based on rectangular cartograms. First, a new rectangular cartograms construction algorithm is adopted in this paper, which can effectively preserve relatively accurate orientation and adjacency relationships between geographic regions, while also effectively preserving the statistical data features. Then, a treemap layout algorithm is applied within the rectangular cartogram to further partition the geographic regions, thereby visualizing the hierarchical structure of the data. Through experimental validation using real datasets and usability testing, the results demonstrate that the method presented in this paper excels in geographic distribution representation, hierarchical relationship visualization, and information readability. Compared to traditional thematic map methods, this approach demonstrates significant advantages in terms of information transmission efficiency and shows promising performance in expressive effectiveness, providing strong support for the analysis and decision making of geographical hierarchical data.