Convert 2D List to Dictionary in Python (3 Examples)

Hi! This tutorial will show you how to change a 2D list to a dictionary in the Python programming language.

First, here is a quick overview:

Let’s jump into the Python code!

Create Demo 2D List

Here, we will create the demo 2D list of strings and integers that will be transformed into a dictionary. So, in your favored Python IDE, run the line of code below to create the demo 2D list:

my2d_list = [["apple", 2], ["banana", 4], ["orange", 6], ["pear",3]]
 
print(my2d_list)
# [['apple', 2], ['banana', 4], ['orange', 6], ['pear', 3]]
 
print(type(my2d_list))
# <class 'list'>

We are now ready to see some examples of how to turn this 2D list to a dictionary.

Example 1: Change 2D List to Dictionary Using dict() Function

In this first example, we will use Python’s built-in dict() function to change the 2D list to a dictionary:

dictionary = dict(my2d_list)
 
print(dictionary)
# {'apple': 2, 'banana': 4, 'orange': 6, 'pear': 3}
 
print(type(dictionary))
# <class 'dict'>

Parsing the 2D list to the dict() function turns it into a dictionary of key-value pairs.
 

Example 2: Change 2D List to Dictionary Using Dictionary Comprehension

In this next example, we will use dictionary comprehension to turn the 2D list to a dictionary:

dictionary = {x[0]: x[1] for x in my2d_list}
 
print(dictionary)
# {'apple': 2, 'banana': 4, 'orange': 6, 'pear': 3}
 
print(type(dictionary))
# <class 'dict'>

The dictionary comprehension method runs an iteration through the 2D list inside curly brackets {}, and assigns the first item in each sub-list as the key and the second item as the value.
 

Example 3: Change 2D List to Dictionary Using For Loop and setdefault() Method

In this final example, we will use a for loop and the setdefault() method to transform the 2D list to a dictionary:

dictionary = dict()
 
for i,j in my2d_list:
  dictionary.setdefault(i,j)
 
print(dictionary)
# {'apple': 2, 'banana': 4, 'orange': 6, 'pear': 3}
 
print(type(dictionary))
# <class 'dict'>

In the above example, we first created an empty dictionary object; then we used the for loop to parse the first and second elements in each sub-list of the 2D list to the .setdefault() method, which formed key-value pairs for the dictionary.

With that, we have demonstrated 3 simple methods of converting a 2D list to a dictionary in Python. I hope you found it helpful!
 

Video, Further Resources & Summary

Do you need more explanations on how to convert a 2D list to a dictionary in Python? Then you should have a look at the following YouTube video of the Statistics Globe YouTube channel.

In the video, we explain in some more detail how to convert a 2D list to a dictionary in Python.

The YouTube video will be added soon.

Furthermore, I encourage you to check out other interesting Python list tutorials on Statistics Globe, starting with these ones:

• count() Method for Lists in Python (2 Examples)
• Difference Between List & pandas DataFrame in Python
• Access Elements in List within Dictionary in Python (2 Examples)
• Convert List of Tuples to List of Lists in Python (3 Examples)
• Learn Python Programming

This post has shown how to convert a 2D list to a dictionary in Python. In case you have further questions, you may leave a comment below.

This page was created in collaboration with Ifeanyi Idiaye. You might check out Ifeanyi’s personal author page to read more about his academic background and the other articles he has written for the Statistics Globe website.