Which postal codes are available on cartogram chart

Excel sees a number like 81242 and gets confused because the same number exists as a postal code in Germany and a ZIP code in the USA, so it picks the wrong one and draws a map of the whole world.

Here is a way to fix it permanently:

The Best Solution (Use GPS Coordinates)
Instead of asking Excel to guess where a postal code is, give it exact Latitude and Longitude (GPS coordinates). Excel never gets coordinates wrong.

Here is the simple 3-step plan:

1. Download a free list of German and Austrian postal codes that includes their matching Latitude and Longitude (you can easily find these online, for example via OpenGeoDB).
2. Add two new columns to your Excel sheet (Latitude & Longitude). Use a simple XLOOKUP formula to match your postal codes to this list and pull the coordinates into your table.
3. Plot the map using these coordinates instead of the postal codes (Insert > 3D Map, or Insert > Scatter/Bubble chart). Your data will now show up exactly where it belongs in Germany and Austria.

Quicker Plan B (If coordinates feel like too much work)
Add a "State" column to your data (e.g., Bayern for Munich, Nordrhein-Westfalen for Cologne). When Excel has the Country and the State, it usually has enough context to place the postal code correctly in Germany.

A small tip: Also change Deutschland and Österreich to Germany and Austria—English names are recognized more easily by Excel's system.

Moving to coordinates is the most professional and reliable way, especially with thousands of rows. It will completely stop your map from jumping to the USA!

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Hope this will help you.

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Go to your data settings, click on your postal code column, and set its Data Category to Postal Code or Zip Code, and make sure the country column is tagged as CountryRegion.