Iterate Over Nested Dictionary with List in Python (Example)

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to iterate over a nested dictionary that contains lists using the Python programming language.

The table of contents is structured as follows:

Let’s dive into it!

Data Initialization

Let’s consider the following nested dictionary:

data = {
    'fruits': ['apple', 'banana', 'orange'],
    'vegetables': ['carrot', 'broccoli', 'spinach'],
    'colors': ['red', 'green', 'blue']
}

Iterating Over Nested Dictionary with List

To iterate over a nested dictionary with lists in Python, you can follow these steps:

1. Access the outer dictionary using a loop.
2. Access the inner dictionary within the outer loop.
3. Access the elements within the list using another loop.

Example: Iterate Over Nested Dictionary with List

To iterate over this nested dictionary, you can use the following code using a nested for loop:

for category, items in data.items():
    print(f"Category: {category}")
    print("Items:")
    for item in items:
        print(f" {item}")
    print()
 
#Category: fruits
#Items:
# apple
# banana
# orange
 
#Category: vegetables
#Items:
# carrot
# broccoli
# spinach
 
#Category: colors
#Items:
# red
# green
# blue

The example demonstrates how to iterate over the nested dictionary with lists and print the category name along with the items within each category.

Video, Further Resources & Summary

Do you need more explanations on iterating over a nested dictionary with a list in Python? Then you should have a look at the following YouTube video of the Statistics Globe YouTube channel.

The YouTube video will be added soon.

Furthermore, you could have a look at some of the other tutorials on Statistics Globe:

• Using Lists in Python (Introduction)
• Check if List of Lists is Empty in Python
• Convert List from Character String to Integer in Python
• Check If Key Exists in List of Dictionaries in Python
• Access Dictionary within List in Python

This post has shown how to iterate over a nested dictionary with lists in Python. In case you have further questions, you may leave a comment below.

This page was created in collaboration with Ömer Ekiz. You may have a look at Ömer’s author page to read more about his academic background and the other articles he has written for Statistics Globe.