# Pie Charts from SQL Data
In the previous tutorial, the chart data was entered manually.
In this tutorial, the chart data will come directly from a MySQL database.
The example below uses the `cyber_security_events` table.
---
## Step 1 - Create the SQL Query
The following query counts how many events belong to each risk level.
```sql
SELECT
risk_level,
COUNT(*) AS total
FROM cyber_security_events
GROUP BY risk_level;
```
Example result:
| risk_level | total |
|------------|------:|
| Low | 15 |
| Medium | 8 |
| High | 3 |
---
## Step 2 - Retrieve the Data with PHP
```php
query($sql);
$data = [];
while($row = $result->fetch())
{
$data[] = [
$row['risk_level'],
(int)$row['total']
];
}
?>
```
---
## Step 3 - Convert the PHP Array to JSON
Google Charts uses JavaScript arrays.
PHP can convert data into JavaScript using:
```php
```
---
## Step 4 - Create the Chart
```html
```
---
## Step 5 - Add the Chart Container
```html
```
---
## Complete Example
```php
query($sql);
$data = [];
while($row = $result->fetch())
{
$data[] = [
$row['risk_level'],
(int)$row['total']
];
}
?>
```
[](https://mr.napper.au/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/image-1782085720266.png)
## Next Tutorial
**Bar Charts from SQL Data**
Learn how to display the same SQL data as a bar chart.