How to select values of a pandas series ?

Published: February 27, 2023

Tags: Python; Pandas; Dataframe; Series;

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When selecting values of a pandas series, the .loc and .iloc indexers are both useful depending on the context. The .loc is primarily used to select data based on labels, while the .iloc relies on integer positions. Examples:

Create a series

Let's create a simple series with pandas:

import pandas as pd

data = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3, 'e':4, 'f':5}

ds = pd.Series(data=data)

print(ds)

output

a    1
b    2
c    3
e    4
f    5
dtype: int64

Select values using loc()

Select one value

if you want to select a specific row you can use the .loc with an index name such as

ds.loc['c']

which return

3

Note that

type(ds.loc['c'])

returns here

numpy.int64

Select multiple values

To select a set of values based on their names using .loc:

ds.iloc['c':'f']

which will return:

c    3
e    4
f    5
dtype: int64

Note that

type(ds.iloc['c':'f'])

returns

pandas.core.series.Series

Using a list

name_list = ['a','c','f']

ds.loc[name_list]

returns

a    1
c    3
f    5
dtype: int64

Using a condition

It is also possible to use loc with a condition. For example, if you want to select all rows with a value greater than 2 you can use the .loc indexer with a condition such as

ds.loc[:] > 2.

gives

a    False
b    False
c     True
e     True
f     True
dtype: bool

Then

ds.loc[ ds.loc[:] > 2. ]

gives

c    3
e    4
f    5
dtype: int64

Select values using iloc()

Select one value

Another solution if you want to select a specific row you can use the .iloc indexer with an integer position such as

ds.iloc[2]

which return

3

It is important to note that when using the .iloc indexer, you are always selecting by position and not by label. This means you should be aware of any potential changes in the order of rows or columns that could affect your results. Additionally, you should also be aware of any duplicate labels since they can produce unexpected behavior when selecting values with the .loc indexer.

Note that

type(ds.iloc[2])

returns

numpy.int64

Select multiple values

To select a set of values based on their integer position using .iloc:

ds.iloc[2:5]

which will return:

c    3
e    4
f    5
dtype: int64

Note that

type(ds.iloc[2:5])

returns

pandas.core.series.Series

Using a list

idx_list = [0,2,4]

ds.iloc[idx_list]

returns

a    1
c    3
f    5
dtype: int64

Extra notes

Convert series to a DataFrame

Just do

ds.to_frame()

returns

   0
a  1
b  2
c  3
e  4
f  5

Iterate through rows of a DataFrame

Note

import pandas as pd
import numpy as np

np.random.seed(42)

data = np.random.uniform(10,80, size=(4,2))

df1 = pd.DataFrame(data,columns=['A','B'])

print(df1)

output

           A          B
0  36.217808  76.550001
1  61.239576  51.906094
2  20.921305  20.919616
3  14.065853  70.632330

iterate over rows of df1

for index, row in df1.iterrows():
    print(row)
    print( type(row) )

output

A    36.217808
B    76.550001
Name: 0, dtype: float64
<class 'pandas.core.series.Series'>
A    61.239576
B    51.906094
Name: 1, dtype: float64
<class 'pandas.core.series.Series'>
A    20.921305
B    20.919616
Name: 2, dtype: float64
<class 'pandas.core.series.Series'>
A    14.065853
B    70.632330
Name: 3, dtype: float64
<class 'pandas.core.series.Series'>

References

Links Site
pandas.Series pandas.pydata.org
iloc() pandas.pydata.org
loc() pandas.pydata.org