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Dictionaries in Python
Last Updated : 07 Oct, 2024

A Python dictionary is a data structure that stores the value in key: value pairs.

Example: Here, The data is stored in key: value pairs in dictionaries, which makes it easier to find
values.

Python

Dict = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

print(Dict)

Output

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

Python dictionaries are essential for efficient data mapping and manipulation in programming. To
deepen your understanding of dictionaries and explore advanced techniques in data handling, consider
enrolling in our Complete Machine Learning & Data Science Program. This course covers
everything from basic dictionary operations to advanced data processing methods, empowering you to
become proficient in Python programming and data analysis.

Table of Content
How to Create a Dictionary
Different Ways to Create a Python Dictionary
Nested Dictionaries
Adding Elements to a Dictionary
Accessing Elements of a Dictionary
Accessing an Element of a Nested Dictionary

Python Dictionary Syntax

dict_var = {key1 : value1, key2 : value2, …..}

What is a Dictionary in Python?

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Dictionaries in Python is a data structure, used to store values in key: value format. This makes it
different from lists, tuples, and arrays as in a dictionary each key has an associated value.

Note: As of Python version 3.7, dictionaries are ordered and can not contain duplicate keys.

How to Create a Dictionary

In Python, a dictionary can be created by placing a sequence of elements within curly {} braces,
separated by a ‘comma’. The dictionary holds pairs of values, one being the Key and the other
corresponding pair element being its Key:value. Values in a dictionary can be of any data type and
can be duplicated, whereas keys can’t be repeated and must be immutable.

Note – Dictionary keys are case sensitive, the same name but different cases of Key will be treated
distinctly.

The code demonstrates creating dictionaries with different types of keys. The first dictionary uses
integer keys, and the second dictionary uses a mix of string and integer keys with corresponding
values. This showcases the flexibility of Python dictionaries in handling various data types as keys.

Python

Dict = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

print("\nDictionary with the use of Integer Keys: ")
print(Dict)

Dict = {'Name': 'Geeks', 1: [1, 2, 3, 4]}

print("\nDictionary with the use of Mixed Keys: ")
print(Dict)

Output

Dictionary with the use of Integer Keys:

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

Dictionary with the use of Mixed Keys:

{'Name': 'Geeks', 1: [1, 2, 3, 4]}

Dictionary Example
A dictionary can also be created by the built-in function dict(). An empty dictionary can be created by
just placing curly braces{}.

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Different Ways to Create a Python Dictionary

The code demonstrates different ways to create dictionaries in Python. It first creates an empty
dictionary, and then shows how to create dictionaries using the dict() constructor with key-value pairs
specified within curly braces and as a list of tuples.

Python

Dict = {}
print("Empty Dictionary: ")
print(Dict)

Dict = dict({1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'})

print("\nDictionary with the use of dict(): ")
print(Dict)

Dict = dict([(1, 'Geeks'), (2, 'For')])

print("\nDictionary with each item as a pair: ")
print(Dict)

Output

Empty Dictionary:
{}

Dictionary with the use of dict():

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

Dictionary with each item as a pair:

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For'}

Complexities for Creating a Dictionary:

Time complexity: O(len(dict))
Space complexity: O(n)

Nested Dictionaries

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Example: The code defines a nested dictionary named ‘Dict’ with multiple levels of key-value pairs.
It includes a top-level dictionary with keys 1, 2, and 3. The value associated with key 3 is another
dictionary with keys ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C.’ This showcases how Python dictionaries can be nested to
create hierarchical data structures.

Python

Dict = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For',

3: {'A': 'Welcome', 'B': 'To', 'C': 'Geeks'}}

print(Dict)

Output

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: {'A': 'Welcome', 'B': 'To', 'C': 'Geeks'}}

More on Python Nested Dictionary

Adding Elements to a Dictionary

The addition of elements can be done in multiple ways. One value at a time can be added to a
Dictionary by defining value along with the key e.g. Dict[Key] = ‘Value’.

Updating an existing value in a Dictionary can be done by using the built-in update() method. Nested
key values can also be added to an existing Dictionary.

Note- While adding a value, if the key-value already exists, the value gets updated otherwise a new
Key with the value is added to the Dictionary.

Example: Add Items to a Python Dictionary with Different DataTypes

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The code starts with an empty dictionary and then adds key-value pairs to it. It demonstrates adding
elements with various data types, updating a key’s value, and even nesting dictionaries within the
main dictionary. The code shows how to manipulate dictionaries in Python.

Python

Dict = {}
print("Empty Dictionary: ")
print(Dict)
Dict[0] = 'Geeks'
Dict[2] = 'For'
Dict[3] = 1
print("\nDictionary after adding 3 elements: ")
print(Dict)

Dict['Value_set'] = 2, 3, 4
print("\nDictionary after adding 3 elements: ")
print(Dict)

Dict[2] = 'Welcome'
print("\nUpdated key value: ")
print(Dict)
Dict[5] = {'Nested': {'1': 'Life', '2': 'Geeks'}}
print("\nAdding a Nested Key: ")
print(Dict)

Output

Empty Dictionary:
{}

Dictionary after adding 3 elements:

{0: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 1}

Dictionary after adding 3 elements:

{0: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 1, 'Value_set': (2, 3, 4)}

Updated key value:

{0: 'Geeks', 2: 'Welcome', 3: 1, 'Value_set': (2, 3, 4)}

Adding a Nested Key:

{0: 'Geeks', 2: 'Welcome', 3: 1, 'Value_set': (2, 3, 4), 5: {'Nested': {'1':
'Life', '2': 'Geeks'}}}

Complexities for Adding Elements in a Dictionary:

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Time complexity: O(1)/O(n)

Space complexity: O(1)

Accessing Elements of a Dictionary

To access the items of a dictionary refer to its key name. Key can be used inside square brackets.

Access a Value in Python Dictionary

The code demonstrates how to access elements in a dictionary using keys. It accesses and prints the
values associated with the keys ‘name’ and 1, showcasing that keys can be of different data types
(string and integer).

Python

Dict = {1: 'Geeks', 'name': 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

print("Accessing a element using key:")
print(Dict['name'])
print("Accessing a element using key:")
print(Dict[1])

Output

Accessing a element using key:

For
Accessing a element using key:
Geeks

There is also a method called get() that will also help in accessing the element from a dictionary. This
method accepts key as argument and returns the value.

Complexities for Accessing elements in a Dictionary:

Time complexity: O(1)
Space complexity: O(1)

Example: Access a Value in Dictionary using get() in Python

The code demonstrates accessing a dictionary element using the get() method. It retrieves and prints
the value associated with the key 3 in the dictionary ‘Dict’ . This method provides a safe way to
access dictionary values, avoiding KeyError if the key doesn’t exist.

Python

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Dict = {1: 'Geeks', 'name': 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

print("Accessing a element using get:")

print(Dict.get(3))

Output

Accessing a element using get:

Geeks

Accessing an Element of a Nested Dictionary

To access the value of any key in the nested dictionary, use indexing [] syntax.

Example: The code works with nested dictionaries. It first accesses and prints the entire nested
dictionary associated with the key ‘Dict1’ . Then, it accesses and prints a specific value by navigating
through the nested dictionaries. Finally, it retrieves and prints the value associated with the
key ‘Name’ within the nested dictionary under ‘Dict2’ .

Python

Dict = {'Dict1': {1: 'Geeks'},

'Dict2': {'Name': 'For'}}

print(Dict['Dict1'])
print(Dict['Dict1'][1])
print(Dict['Dict2']['Name'])

Output

{1: 'Geeks'}
Geeks
For

Deleting Elements using ‘del’ Keyword

The items of the dictionary can be deleted by using the del keyword as given below.

Example: The code defines a dictionary, prints its original content, and then uses the ‘del’ statement
to delete the element associated with key 1. After deletion, it prints the updated dictionary, showing
that the specified element has been removed.
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Python

Dict = {1: 'Geeks', 'name': 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

print("Dictionary =")
print(Dict)
del(Dict[1])
print("Data after deletion Dictionary=")
print(Dict)

Output

Dictionary =
{1: 'Geeks', 'name': 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}
Data after deletion Dictionary=
{'name': 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

Dictionary Methods

Here is a list of in-built dictionary functions with their description. You can use these functions to
operate on a dictionary.

Method Description

This function is used to create a new dictionary

dict() or convert other iterable objects into a
dictionary.

dict.clear() Remove all the elements from the dictionary

dict.copy() Returns a copy of the dictionary

dict.get(key, default = “None”) Returns the value of specified key

Returns a list containing a tuple for each key

dict.items()
value pair

dict.keys() Returns a list containing dictionary’s keys

Updates dictionary with specified key-value

dict.update(dict2)
pairs

dict.values() Returns a list of all the values of dictionary

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pop() Remove the element with specified key

popItem() Removes the last inserted key-value pair

set the key to the default value if the key is not

dict.setdefault(key,default= “None”)
specified in the dictionary

returns true if the dictionary contains the

dict.has_key(key)
specified key.

For Detailed Explanations: Python Dictionary Methods

Multiple Dictionary Operations in Python

The code begins with a dictionary ‘dict1’ and creates a copy ‘dict2’ . It then demonstrates several
dictionary operations: clearing ‘dict1’ , accessing values, retrieving key-value pairs and keys,
removing specific key-value pairs, updating a value, and retrieving values. These operations
showcase how to work with dictionaries in Python.

Python

dict1 = {1: "Python", 2: "Java", 3: "Ruby", 4: "Scala"}

dict2 = dict1.copy()
print(dict2)
dict1.clear()
print(dict1)
print(dict2.get(1))
print(dict2.items())
print(dict2.keys())
dict2.pop(4)
print(dict2)
dict2.popitem()
print(dict2)
dict2.update({3: "Scala"})
print(dict2)
print(dict2.values())

Output

{1: 'Python', 2: 'Java', 3: 'Ruby', 4: 'Scala'}

{}
Python
dict_items([(1, 'Python'), (2, 'Java'), (3, 'Ruby'), (4, 'Scala')])
dict_keys([1, 2, 3, 4])
{1: 'Python', 2: 'Java', 3: 'Ruby'}
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{1: 'Python', 2: 'Java'}

{1: 'Python', 2: 'Java', 3: 'Scala'}
dict_values(['Python', 'Java', 'Scala'])

We have covered all about dictionaries in Python, discussed its definition, and uses, and saw different
dictionary methods with examples. The dictionary is an important data structure for storing data in
Python. It is very different from tuples and lists.

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