If you’re looking to sort a dictionary by value using Python, then you’ve come to the right place. Sorting a dictionary by value can be incredibly useful for a variety of applications, such as sorting data for visualization or analyzing data in a more organized way. In this guide, we will walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to sort a dictionary by value using Python.

Sorting a dictionary by value is a relatively simple process in Python. The first step is to create a dictionary with the key-value pairs that you wish to sort. Once you have your dictionary, you can use the sorted() function to sort the dictionary by value.

Sorting a Dictionary by Value using the sorted() Function

The sorted() function in Python is used to sort any iterable object. It returns a sorted list of the specified iterable. In the case of a dictionary, the sorted() function can be used to sort the dictionary by value. Here’s how to use the sorted() function to sort a dictionary by value:

				
					dictionary = {"apple": 10, "banana": 5, "orange": 20, "grape": 15}
sorted_dict = sorted(dictionary.items(), key=lambda x: x[1])

In this example, we have created a dictionary with the key-value pairs that we wish to sort. We then use the sorted() function to sort the dictionary by value. The key argument is set to lambda x: x[1], which tells the function to sort the dictionary by the second element in each tuple (the value).

The sorted() function returns a list of tuples, where each tuple contains the key-value pairs from the original dictionary. The list is sorted by the value in ascending order. To sort the list in descending order, you can set the reverse argument to True.

				
					sorted_dict = sorted(dictionary.items(), key=lambda x: x[1], reverse=True)

In this example, we have set the reverse argument to True, which sorts the list in descending order.

Sorting a Dictionary by Value using the operator module

Another way to sort a dictionary by value in Python is to use the operator module. The operator module provides a set of efficient functions corresponding to the intrinsic operators of Python. One of these functions is itemgetter(), which can be used to retrieve items from a dictionary.

Here’s how to use the operator module to sort a dictionary by value:

				
					import operator

dictionary = {"apple": 10, "banana": 5, "orange": 20, "grape": 15}
sorted_dict = sorted(dictionary.items(), key=operator.itemgetter(1))

In this example, we have imported the operator module and used the itemgetter() function to retrieve the second element in each tuple (the value). We then use the sorted() function to sort the dictionary by value.

The sorted() function returns a list of tuples, where each tuple contains the key-value pairs from the original dictionary. The list is sorted by the value in ascending order. To sort the list in descending order, you can use the itemgetter() function with the reverse argument set to True.

				
					sorted_dict = sorted(dictionary.items(), key=operator.itemgetter(1), reverse=True)

In this example, we have set the reverse argument to True, which sorts the list in descending order.

Sorting a dictionary by value is a simple and useful process in Python. In this guide, we have walked you through two different methods for sorting a dictionary by value using Python: using the sorted() function and using the operator module. We hope this guide has been helpful in teaching you how to sort a dictionary by value in Python.


Thanks for reading. Happy coding!