How to transpose a pandas dataframe to switch its rows and columns ?

Transposing a pandas dataframe is an important part of manipulating and exploring data. It involves switching the rows and columns in order to view and analyze the data from another perspective. To transpose a pandas dataframe, you will need to use the .T method. This operation can be done as follows:

Create a dataframe with pandas

Let's first create a dataframe with pandas

import pandas as pd

data = {'Age':[21,26,82,15,28],
        'Id':['jch2c1','63jc2h','hg217d','hj127b','edew32'],
        'weight':[120,148,139,156,129],
        'Gender':['male','male','female','male','female'],
        'Country':['France','USA','USA','Germany','USA']}

df = pd.DataFrame(data=data,index=['A','B','C','D','E'])

returns

   Age      Id  weight  Gender  Country
A   21  jch2c1     120    male   France
B   26  63jc2h     148    male      USA
C   82  hg217d     139  female      USA
D   15  hj127b     156    male  Germany
E   28  edew32     129  female      USA

Transpose a dataframe

A simple solution for transposing a dataframe is to use the following code

df.T

returns

              A       B       C        D       E
Age          21      26      82       15      28
Id       jch2c1  63jc2h  hg217d   hj127b  edew32
weight      120     148     139      156     129
Gender     male    male  female     male  female
Country  France     USA     USA  Germany     USA

To make it more permanent

df = df.T

Transpose a dataframe using transpose()

With option copy = False

Another solution is to use

new_df = df.transpose()

Note that by default transpose() has the option copy = False.

returns

              A       B       C        D       E
Age          21      26      82       15      28
Id       jch2c1  63jc2h  hg217d   hj127b  edew32
weight      120     148     139      156     129
Gender     male    male  female     male  female
Country  France     USA     USA  Germany     USA

Then if the original dataframe is modified:

df.loc['A','weight'] = -9999

gives

   Age      Id  weight  Gender  Country
A   21  jch2c1   -9999    male   France
B   26  63jc2h     148    male      USA
C   82  hg217d     139  female      USA
D   15  hj127b     156    male  Germany
E   28  edew32     129  female      USA

the transposed dataframe is not affected since copy = False

              A       B       C        D       E
Age          21      26      82       15      28
Id       jch2c1  63jc2h  hg217d   hj127b  edew32
weight      120     148     139      156     129
Gender     male    male  female     male  female
Country  France     USA     USA  Germany     USA

With option copy = True

Now with the option copy = True:

new_df = df.transpose(copy=True)

if the original dataframe is modified:

df.loc['A','weight'] = -9999

returns

   Age      Id  weight  Gender  Country
A   21  jch2c1   -9999    male   France
B   26  63jc2h     148    male      USA
C   82  hg217d     139  female      USA
D   15  hj127b     156    male  Germany
E   28  edew32     129  female      USA

the transposed dataframe is ALSO affected:

              A       B       C        D       E
Age          21      26      82       15      28
Id       jch2c1  63jc2h  hg217d   hj127b  edew32
weight    -9999     148     139      156     129
Gender     male    male  female     male  female
Country  France     USA     USA  Germany     USA

References