How to Print an Array in Python

3 ways to print an array in Python:

  1. Direct Printing
  2. Using for loop
  3. Pretty Printing

Method 1: Direct Printing 

The print() function takes the name of the array(list) containing the values and prints it.

Visual Representation

Visual Representation of How to Print an Array in Python

Example 1: Array(list)

even_array = [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]
even_2d_array = [[2, 4], [6, 8]]

print("Printing 1D array:", even_array)
print("Printing 2D array:", even_2d_array)

Output

Printing 1D array: [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]
Printing 2D array: [[2, 4], [6, 8]]

Example 2: NumPy Array

You can create a NumPy array using the np.array() function.

import numpy as np

odd_array = np.array([1, 3, 5, 7, 9])
odd_2d_array = np.array([[1, 3], [5, 7]])

print("Printing 1D NumPy array:", odd_array)
print("Printing 2D NumPy array:", odd_2d_array)

Output

Printing 1D array: [1 3 5 7 9]
Printing 2D array: 
[[1 3]
[5 7]]

Method 2: Using for loop

To print the elements of an array line by line or with a custom format, you can use a for loop.

For a 1D array, the loop iterates through each element, printing them one by one.

For a 2D (multidimensional) array, a nested for loop is used: the outer loop iterates through each row, while the inner loop handles each element within that row, enabling the printing of the array in a matrix-like format.

Example 1: Array(list)

even_array = [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]
even_2d_array = [[2, 4], [6, 8]]

print("Printing 1D array : ")
for element in even_array:
 print(element)

print("Printing 2D array : ")
for row in even_2d_array:
 for x in row:
 print(x, end=" ")
 print()

Output

Printing 1D array : 
2
4
6
8
10
Printing 2D array : 
2 4 
6 8 

Example 2: NumPy Array

import numpy as np

odd_array = np.array([1, 3, 5, 7, 9])
odd_2d_array = np.array([[1, 3], [5, 7]])

print("Printing 1D NumPy array: ")
for element in odd_array:
 print(element)

print("Printing 2D NumPy array:")
for row in odd_2d_array:
 for x in row:
 print(x, end=" ")
 print()

Output

Printing 1D NumPy array: 
1
3
5
7
9
Printing 2D NumPy array:
1 3 
5 7

Method 3: Pretty Printing

The pprint module can be useful for nested arrays or arrays with complex data structures.

It is used with an indent parameter to specify the number of spaces for indentation.

Example

import pprint

nested_array = [
 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
 [6, 7, 8],
 [9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14],
 ['a', 'b', 'c', ['d', 'e', 'f', ['g', 'h']]]
]

# Using pprint to print the nested array
pp = pprint.PrettyPrinter(indent=4)
pp.pprint(nested_array)

Output

[ [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
 [6, 7, 8],
 [9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14],
 ['a', 'b', 'c', ['d', 'e', 'f', ['g', 'h']]]]

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