A factor analysis is applied to the chemical results of about 2,000 samples of different tobaccos from around the world. The chemical analytes considered are the classical of the tobacco, namely, alcaloids, reducing sugars, Kjeldahl N, soluble NH4, ash, chloride, phosphate, nitrate and sulphate. All the chemistry is carried out in a short time by a computerised analytical set of two analytical devices. The results are validated by using GLC. The factor analysis shows that only three factors are enough to explain most of the variance. The plot of the two principal components allows to distinguish eight groups of tobaccos, in agreement with the classification of the EC. Other tobacco products as stems, expanded and reconstituted or tobacco blends are also plotted for comparison purposes. Special attention is paid to the characterization of dark air-cured tobaccos. These may be further divided in two groups according with the variety. The factor analysis, when carried out between groups of samples, shows a classification of the tobacco after either the land of origin or the stalk position by suitable manipulation of the raw data. A discussion over the factor loadings, including its rotations, obtained for the different types of curing is also provided.