scale_x_date limits problem or filtering problem?

Question

I'm trying to build a plot with geom_line based on the data from 1990 to 2020, and I'd like my x-axis breaks to be every 5 years. I've filtered the original data to the period 1990-2020, set the limits of scale_x_date and found other answers here on using expand = c(0,0), but there are still some extra years in the beginning that are messing with the breaks so the five years periods are not 1990-1995-2000 etc, but 1993-1998-2003 etc. The limits themselves work properly though, if you set any other dates. What might be the problem here? Thanks!!

and here's my code:

library(tidyverse)
library(lubridate)
departures <- readr::read_csv('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rfordatascience/tidytuesday/master/data/2021/2021-04-27/departures.csv')
departures$fyear_gone <- lubridate::ymd(departures$fyear_gone, truncated = 2L)
by_year <- departures %>%  group_by(fyear_gone, ceo_dismissal) %>%
  filter(fyear_gone <= as.Date('2020-01-01') & fyear_gone >= as.Date('1990-01-01')) %>% 
  drop_na(ceo_dismissal) %>% count() %>% complete(ceo_dismissal=c(0,1), fill = list(n= 0L))
by_year$ceo_dismissal <- as.factor(by_year$ceo_dismissal)
ggplot(by_year, aes(fyear_gone, n, color=ceo_dismissal))+geom_line()+
  scale_x_date(date_labels="%y", breaks = "5 years", limits = as.Date(c("1990-01-01", "2020-01-01"), expand = c(0,0)))

Answer 1

expand= is an argument to scale_x_date, but you have it within limits=as.Date(.), and it is being ignored:

as.Date("2020-02-01", expand=c(0, 0))
# [1] "2020-02-01"

Your limits should be one argument, then add one close-paren, then add expand=. Change from the first to the second:

scale_x_date(..., limits = as.Date(c("1990-01-01", "2020-01-01"), expand = c(0,0)))
scale_x_date(..., limits = as.Date(c("1990-01-01", "2020-01-01")), expand = c(0,0))

Ultimately,

... +
  scale_x_date(date_labels="%y", breaks = "5 years",
    limits = as.Date(c("1990-01-01", "2020-01-01")),
    expand = c(0,0)
  )