Python Program to Check If a List is Empty

In this example, you will learn to check if a Python list is empty.

To understand this example, you should have the knowledge of the following Python programming topics:

• Python List
• Python if…else Statement

1. Example 1: Using Boolean operation

my_list = []
if not my_list:
    print("the list is empty")

Output

the list is empty

If my_list is empty then not returns True.

It is the most pythonic way of testing emptiness. If you want to learn more about boolean truth value, you can refer to Truth Value Testing.

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2. Example 2: Using len()

my_list = []
if not len(my_list):
    print("the list is empty")

Output

the list is empty

In this example, length of list is used to check if there is any element in the list. If the length of a list is 0, then the list is empty.

3. Example 3: Comparing with []

my_list = []
if my_list == []:
    print("The list is empty")

Output

[] is an empty list, therefore if my_list has no elements, then it should be equal to [].